A Flame of Black & Teal
by dtrane15
Summary: 5 years have passed since the great war between Alvarez and Fairy Tail, and with Zeref's ultimate defeat came an unprecedented peace. However, it would seem that the newfound peace was not meant to last. Rumors of a black dragon have surfaced, and now a new threat rises. Will Team Natsu be able to discover and stop this unseen force before the world is thrown into chaos once more?
1. Peace & Melancholy

**Hey Everyone! Welcome to my first story ever. If you end up giving this a read, please do enjoy yourself. Also, if this story takes off I have many things in store for it. The main paring is Natsu x Wendy, but I am open to a mild harem as you'll notice in this chapter. I've got some girls picked out already, however I'll put a poll up to let you guys decide. Take note that Acnologia is actually female in this fic so, she is fair game when it comes to the harem. Additionally, I'm only going to pick 3 winners from the poll. Yup that's about it for now.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Fairy Tail, my boy Hiro Mashima does. I do have some OC's though.**

* * *

 **PEACE & MELANCHOLY**

The year was X797 and it was another beautiful day in Magnolia. The streets were busy, with vendors and buyers going about their business. The sun was shining and a gentle breeze could be felt, my how it was comforting. All seemed normal in this old town, and on a day such as this how could anything be out of place? Well, a simple visit to the famous wizard guild that sits at the edge of town, is all one would need to see that something is indeed wrong.

—

At the edge of town sits the famous wizard guild known as Fairy Tail. This guild is recognized far and wide due to its wild antics and lively atmosphere. Today however, and many a day beforehand, it would seem that something has put a damper on the mood. The usual brawls that littered the guildhall were all but non-existent, and the usual sounds of laughter that could be heard from outside were now gone. Nowadays, guild members will come in to pick up a job or have a silent drink, and then call it a day. This is all peculiar indeed, however the problem can be narrowed down to the absence of a single person. A person that could be considered the very essence of Fairy Tail, and that person is a certain pinkette and Dragon Slayer known as Natsu Dragneel. It has been five years since the great war with Alvarez, and out of those five years, Natsu has been gone for three. As to where the pink-haired dragon slayer is at the moment, no one knows, well with the exception of one that is, but even he is unsure.

—

At the bar, you can find MiraJane Strauss as she cleans off glasses and places them on the shelves behind her. In front of Mira, is none other than Erza Scarlet, who at the moment is playing with a piece of her favorite strawberry cake. Erza continued to fiddle with her cake until Mira snapped her out of her daze. "Erza, are you alright?" Now out her trance Erza looked up at the barmaid who wore a concerned look on her face. "Oh, sorry Mira I was just spacing out for a moment there, nothing to get worried over." Erza put on a weak smile to try and reinforce her claim, however Mira wasn't buying it for a second. "Come on Erza, you and I both know that's not the case." "I know" was all that Erza replied with a downcast face. A moment of silence passed between the two, until Erza spoke again. "It's been three years Mira…", Mira only nodded in agreement as Erza continued. "Where is he? Why hasn't he come back to us?" Erza questioned with a quiver in her voice. "I don't know Erza, I wish I knew" Mira stated with a solemn look in her eyes. Mira truly wished she did know, she missed that pinkette more than she would let on. Just then, the doors of the guildhall shot open. Everyone in the guild trained their eyes on the doorway with hope evident on their faces. "We're home!" stated a familiar voice, that soon revealed to be that of Gray Fullbuster. Next to him was another familiar face, Lucy Heartfelia. As their presence was now made known, the glint of hope that was in everyone's eyes faded, as they all responded with an unenthusiastic "hey".

Gray and Lucy made their way over to the bar where they took a seat by Erza, one on either side. Mira greeted the two, and asked what they were going to have. "I'll take a beer" said a now half naked Gray. "And I'll have a coffee please" stated Lucy, who was too depressed to even scold the streaker. As Mira occupied herself with their orders, Erza began to ask them about their recent Job. "So you two, how'd the job go?" "It went perfectly fine, the dark guild we had to take out ended up being a lot easier than we initially thought" stated Gray. "I see…" said Erza as if she were in deep thought. "Did you happen to find anythi-" but before Erza could finish her question, Lucy interjected. "No…we didn't hear anything, not even a simple rumor" stated Lucy in a bleak tone. Gray looked at the two girls beside him with worry. ' _Where are you Flame-brain_ ' thought Gray. "Come on guys, this is Natsu we're talking about. He'd never just leave and not comeback, right?" Gray asked. Both Erza and Lucy looked up at him with somber eyes and a small smile. "yeah, I guess you are right" said Lucy as Erza also nodded in agreement. Although, if Gray was being honest with himself, he knew that he only halfheartedly believed in what he had just said to the girls. Gray had thought about Natsu's whereabouts often, ever since the first few months of his disappearance. He could remember it like it was yesterday, the day that Natsu left and never came home.

[ _ **Flash-Back Begin**_ ]

It was the year X794, and two years had passed since the great Alvarez war. In those two years alone Earthland had experienced a peace like no other, it was almost as if evil never existed. Children ran through the streets free from worry, people even left there doors open during the warmer days. All of this was truly a sight to behold, it was almost unbelievable. Sitting on a hilltop overlooking Magnolia resting on a tree was the all too well known pinkette, Natsu Dragneel. Natsu leaned on the tree with his hands behind his head whilst his eyes remained closed. He remained like this for another few minutes, that is until he caught a familiar scent with that uncanny nose of his. ' _Happy_ ' Natsu thought to himself. He could tell just by Happy's scent, that he was about a mile away. Natsu remained stationary, and waited for his best friend to arrive. A few moments later Happy finally made it to his partners side. "There you are Natsu! I've been looking everywhere for you, why are you all the way out here?" Happy asked with a bit of anxiousness in his voice. Natsu slowly opened his eyes to look over at his companion and respond to his query. "Oh hey there buddy. I'm just resting and thinking about some stuff" Natsu simply stated. "Uh-oh, don't think too hard or your head might explode" said Happy with a smirk on his face. A couple of tick marks formed on Natsu's head, clearly irritated by his exceed's remark. "Gimme a break Happy, geez" Happy simply laughed at his father figure's frustrated look. "Anyway, whatcha thinking about?" asked a very curious Happy. "Well…" Natsu started "I was just thinking about how things ended two years ago when we won the war." Natsu said while having a distant look in his eye. "Why are you thinking about that all of a sudden?" Happy asked now with a bit of concern in his voice. Natsu contemplated whether or not he should tell Happy the real reason behind his thoughts, but he then decided not to worry his little friend instead. "Don't worry about it Happy, it's just thinking after all. Now come on, why don't we head back to the guild and get you some fish." Natsu finished with his usual toothy grin. "Aye sir!" Happy responded, elated that he was going to get some fish.

—

Happy and Natsu had made the trek from the outskirts of Magnolia back to the guildhall in what seemed like no time at all. It was a beautiful day, so wonderful in fact that Natsu and Happy could not help but bask in it's radiance. Once they made it to the guild's front entrance, Happy wasted no time in barging through it's doors. As soon as the doors where open the duo was greeted with flying debris and various members bodies. Natsu made it about half way to the bar where he was going to greet Mira when he was suddenly punched across the guildhall into a pillar. "Oi Flame-Brain, where ya been? I hope you haven't wussed out on fighting me today" Gray yelled out from across the room. Several tick marks riddled Natsu's head upon hearing his all time rival's voice, to say that he was irritated is an understatement. "What the heck is the matter with ya Ice-Prick, can't you see I'm busy?" Natsu asked in an irritated tone. "And? What's that got to do with me? Gray asked, then continued to say "Just come fight me Flame-Breath, we have to settle the score" Gray stated with a mischievous grin on his face. "Now you're asking for it" said Natsu with a similar grin on his face, and in no time at all they were at it like two roosters during a cock fight. Happy could only look at his partner in a deadpanned manner. "Geez Natsu, what was that like ten seconds?" Happy asked in exasperation.

From the bar Mira could only smile at the pinkette's silliness. She decided to go ahead and prepare a meal for the fire dragon slayer, seeing as he was headed over to the bar in the first place. A few moments later, "Hahaha, looks like this one's my win Frostbite" Natsu stated as he gave the ice-make wizard a smirk. "Yeah yeah, you just got lucky, next one will be mine for sure" Gray responded with a smirk of his own. "Keep dreaming buddy" Natsu remarked. "WHAT'D YOU SAY!" Gray yelled as he dove at the fire dragon slayer in hopes of tackling him to the ground, but paled soon after as he completely missed his mark and flew strait into Elfman. Natsu finally made it to the bar and took a seat, before greeting Mira. "Yo Mira, what's up?" Natsu asked while sporting a grin. Mira responded in kind with her own grin before answering the pinkette. "Oh, same old same old." Mira chanted whilst cleaning a glass. "By the way Natsu, I've got something for you" said Mira as she disappeared to the back, then later emerged with a platter of flaming food. Natsu's eyes widened and he began to drool a bit at the sight before speaking. "Wow, thanks Mira. How much do I owe ya?" Natsu inquired without removing his gaze from the the platter. "It's on the house" said Mira with a beautiful smile spread across her face. "Are you sure?" the dragon slayer questioned while tilting his head in confusion. "Of Course, so eat up!" Mira stated with glee. "Well in that case, thanks a lot Mira you're the best!" said Natsu with clear happiness. Mira couldn't help but blush slightly at his comment, so she nodded and pretended to do something else till it went away. While Natsu devoured his food like a madman, the rest of the guild was going at it's usual pace.

Fights littered the floor and obnoxious laughter rang through the air. Everything was business as usual, with the exception of the absence of a few members, those members being the remainder of team Natsu. A couple of days ago, Erza had decided that she wanted to do a job exclusively with Lucy and Wendy. Natsu and Grey were not about to argue considering it was Titania giving the orders, so the boys were more than happy to oblige. The girls would be back any moment now. Natsu now sat back rubbing his stomach after his feast, before speaking again. "Phew, that was delicious! Thanks again Mira" Natsu said in satisfaction. "You're quite welcome Natsu" said Mira with her usual smile. "Say Mira…" Natsu started "you haven't happened to see the master around have you?" Natsu finished with curiosity. Mira pondered the question before answering "Now that I think about it, I believe I saw him head to his office not too long ago." Mira stated matter of factly. "Oh good, then I'll go see him while he's up there" having said that Natsu stood up and started to head up to the second floor.

Not too long after the events during the Alvarez war, Natsu had been promoted to S-Class for his overwhelming assistance in Zeref's defeat. Mira was about to inquire about his reasons for needing to speak with the master, but she was soon swamped with orders, so she decided to drop it for now. Natsu was now standing in front of the master's office door, and he steeled himself before knocking. "Who might it be?" called a gruff voice from the opposite side of the door. "Hey Gramps, it's Natsu" the pinkette stated nonchalantly. "Ah Natsu my boy, come in" Makarov stated in a husky gleeful tone. Natsu entered the old man's office and took a seat in front of the master's desk. "Gramps…" Natsu started, and before he continued, he put on a serious expression that was not very common for the pinkette. "I need to talk to you about something important, something that has been bothering me for a while now." Natsu finished while looking the master straight in the eye. Makarov took in Natsu's expression, and he began to worry for the dragon slayer. "What is it my boy?" Makarov asked, a mixture of worry and curiosity spread across his face. Natsu looked away for a moment, as if to ponder how he should answer the titan wizard. "It's about Acnologia" Natsu stated with a deadly serious look.

—

Back down on the first floor, Gray and Elfman were still at it, as well as some other members who had gotten sucked into the mix. About a minute later the guildhall's doors swung open, revealing three figures. The shenanigans transpiring in the guild continued for a hot second until they realized who was standing in the doorway. Everyone froze like a deer in headlights, who else could it be other than Erza Scarlet to propagate such a reaction. Standing next to the queen of the fairies was Lucy, and beside her was a now older and more mature Wendy. The three girls made their way to the bar, all the while every one was acting 'natural' as it were.

As the girls took their seats, Mira served them their usual refreshments along with Erza's fabled strawberry cake. The three just began to dig in to their refreshments when Gray made his way over to them to greet his fellow teammates. "Hey guys, how was the job?" Gray asked while looking away as if he were uninterested. "Gray…Clothes" said an exhausted Wendy. Gray looked down, only to notice he was down to nothing but his boxers "Ah! Darn it!" Gray shouted in exasperation as he quickly attempted to locate his clothing. Wendy used to get super embarrassed when grey would strip, but now it's all to familiar. She was pretty sure she was scarred for life. The trio at the bar continued to indulge in their refreshments for few moments as they were still tired from their recent outing. After a couple of more swigs from her cup of coffee, Lucy broke the silence. "Man that job was tiring" Lucy spoke while stretching her arms. "You could say that again" Wendy and Erza stated in unison. Mira took an interest in the ongoing conversation, and decided to join in. "Hoh, and what happened during the job to make you three so exhausted?" Mira questioned playfully with a smile. Though, Mira was actually curious considering it was these three, the strongest girls in the guild other than herself. "The job request seemed simple enough" Erza began "but we had no idea that the dark guild we were supposed to wipe out had over 5000 members!" Lucy continued "not only that, but they had summoners in their ranks, so that made matters even worse" Wendy concluded with a groan. Mira's eyes widened a bit at this information, "wow, no wonder you three are so worn out" Mira stated. "We could have cut the time in half had we had the boys with us" Lucy stated with certainty. Both Wendy and Erza nodded in agreement with this remark, then Wendy smiled at a thought she was about to make known. "Be all that as it may, I'm still glad we had our girls only mission, it was a great experience" Wendy said with a smile on her lips. Erza and Lucy simply smiled back at the sky dragon slayer, and with that they all giggled together.

Lucy then began raving about how she made enough Jewel from their previous venture to pay her rent for the next four months, at this display of joy the barmaid, requip wizard and bluenette all laughed merrily. Not too long after that Wendy began to scan the guild hall, forgoing the current conversation all for the sake of finding a certain someone, that one guy with pink hair. Erza and Lucy had begun their own conversation that had something to do with Lucy's novel, however none of this mattered as Wendy was trying to locate her fellow dragon slayer. "Hey Mira…" Wendy called, the barmaid who was serving another member at the moment, heard the bluenette and answered "Yes Wendy, what can I do for you?" Mira inquired. Although, Mira had a pretty good hunch as to what Wendy was about to ask her. "Do you happen to know where Natsu is?" Wendy queried, ' _Bingo_ ' Mira thought. "Yes actually, he went upstairs to talk to the master about something not too long before you three arrived." This caught the attention of the other two who were previously having a conversation, as well as piquing Wendy's interest. "What do you suppose he went to the master for?" Erza asked full of curiosity. The other two shook their heads, as neither of them could figure out why Natsu would do such a thing on his own. "Do you know Mira?" Wendy questioned. "No, all Natsu told me was that he needed to talk to the master about something" Mira stated plainly. "Very curious indeed" Said Erza with an interested look on her face. "Don't worry" Mira started "I'm sure he'll let us know when he finishes up talking to the master" Mira ended with her signature smile. The three girls smiled back, and waited for their favorite fire-breathing wizard to come back downstairs.

—

"Are you absolutely positive that there is no convincing you otherwise?" Makarov inquired pleadingly. "Yeah, I'm positive Gramps" Natsu replied, not an ounce of doubt in his voice. "Fine my boy, then you have my approval" Makarov mumbled. "Thanks Gramps, oh and one more thing" Natsu said as he started to make his way to exit the office. "What is it Natsu?" asked Makarov, hoping that his next request would not be as outrageous as his first. "Please…" Natsu trailed off for a moment. Makarov gazing at him with troubled eyes. "Don't tell anyone what I'm doing, this stays between you and me ok?" said Natsu while looking at Makarov expectantly. "But Natsu…" said Makarov even more worried before being cut off by the pinkette. "Please Gramps, this is my burden to bare, and mine alone. As a man I'm asking you to honor my requests." Natsu finished with his arm outstretched towards the little old man. Makarov frowned at Natsu, but nodded and shook his child's hand in agreement of the terms that were set.

Just before Natsu exited the master's office, Makarov said one final thing to him. "You'd better come back alive, you hear me? Or there will be hell to pay!" Makarov stated, nothing but seriousness in his tone. Natsu simply gave the old man his signature toothy grin and nodded, before finally leaving the office. Makarov alone in his office now, could only mutter to himself "Be safe, my child." Before natsu made his way back downstairs, he walked over to the S-Class request board. Seeing something interesting he tore it off the board and went downstairs. As Natsu was descending, he pondered if the job request he'd taken would offset some of his other plans by much. Back down at the bar Wendy caught hold of her favorite scent as it grew stronger, she looked toward the stairs and sure enough her favorite fire-breathing goofball was making his way down the stairs. Wendy unconsciously smiled, while looking at Natsu, and this action was not missed by Mira. Not too long after Wendy noticed Natsu, Lucy and Erza followed in Wendy's footsteps. Natsu had made it back downstairs and was just finishing up reading the request he'd recently picked up.

As he was about to hand the request to Mira for approval, he looked up and saw his team members all staring at him with a weird smile on their faces. "Uh…are you three ok?" Natsu asked while staring back at them with a confused look on his face. The three were immediately thrown back into reality upon hearing his voice. "O-Oh we're just fine" Erza responded, the other two nodding in agreement, all of them blushing madly. "Ok…then" Natsu replied slowly still utterly confused at what just happened. Only you natsu. The fire dragon slayer then turned his attention to a much more composed Mira and handed her the request. Mira looked at the request, and noticed that it was a high difficulty S-Ranked mission just under a Decade quest. This got Mira really curious, and to be perfectly honest, a little worried as well. "This is a pretty high-level request natsu, but I'm pretty sure that you and your team can handle any situation" said Mira with confidence. The three girls simply looked at each other with determination, silently agreeing with Mira's previous statement. That is, until what the pinkette said next. "I have no doubt that is the case, but I'm actually taking this one solo" Natsu said with all seriousness. "w-what?" Mira stammered, giving the fire dragon slayer an incredulous look. Natsu, tilted his head in confusion at Mira's reaction. "What? Did I say something wrong?" Natsu questioned. Erza, Lucy, and Wendy quickly regained composure after hearing this information. "Have you completely lost your mind!" Erza shouted, earning a couple of glances from neighboring crowds in the guild. Lucy and Wendy quickly followed suit. "Why do you need to go alone?" Lucy inquired with a tinge of irritation and worry in her tone. Natsu was about to respond, however Wendy spoke before he could. "Natsu, are you going alone, because you are mad at us for excluding you and Gray from the last mission?" Wendy asked hoping he wouldn't be mad at her. Natsu answered Wendy first, "No Wendy, nothing like that, the Ice-Freak and I wouldn't get worked up over something like that," then Erza "hahaha, of course not Erza, you know I always love a good challenge," finally Lucy "and Lucy, it's just something that I want to do on my own, simple as that." Natsu finished the interrogation and gave them all a toothy grin before making his way to the guilds front entrance.

Before Natsu could leave he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to find Wendy looking at him with nothing but worry on her face. Natsu looked passed her and saw the exact same thing on Lucy, Erza, and Mira's Face. He looked back down at Wendy, who at this point was only just below Natsu's chin. "Hey don't worry, I'll be just fine" Natsu said as he patted the bluenette's head affectionately. Wendy didn't say anything, she just nodded and backed away slightly so as to let him know that she believed him. Just then Natsu remembered he promised Happy some fish, though poor little guy wore himself out and could now be seen sleeping in a corner alongside Carla. He made his way back to the bar quickly and rummaged through his pocket until he found what he was looking for. Natsu pulled out a bundle of Jewel and handed it over to Mira. "I promised Happy I'd get him a bunch of fish when we came to the guild, so take this for his tab and keep the change, if there is any hahaha" Natsu chuckled as he turned around and walked out of the guild, before anyone could stop him. "Well that was odd…" stated a thoroughly confused and worried Erza. "Maybe we should go after him" suggested Lucy with a little panic lacing her words. Wendy just sat at the bar sporting a crestfallen look. Mira then took this chance to calm everyone down. "Come on guys, have a little faith in him. He was the one who took down Zeref after all" Mira gently chided. The three girls seemed to loosen up at this remark, making Mira sigh with relief. "Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be back in no time!" Mira sang, in order to get her comrades morale up even further. "Yeah you're right Mira. I just wish he'd let us go with him" Lucy said as she let out a heavy sigh. "I know Lucy. You just need to keep yourselves occupied until he comes back. Maybe once you are all rested up, you can head out on some simple missions to pass the time" Mira suggested hoping it would take their mind off the pink haired dragon slayer. The three girls pondered this proposal for a minute before finally agreeing. "You're right Mira, we shall then do as you have suggested and keep ourselves occupied until his return" said Erza with as much determination as she could muster. All four girls then began to converse about other things. Just as all of this had transpired, a little blue cat is just now waking from his slumber.

—

Pain. Pain is what Natsu was feeling in his heart right now for making his beloved comrades worry about his wellbeing. The pinkette had been walking to his home located at the fringe of the woods, not too far from the guildhall. All the while suffering internally about what his comrades are going through emotionally, and will go through in time. He hated it, more than anything in this world, he never wanted his friends to go through this kind of pain. The fire dragon slayer could also not help but hate himself for putting his friends through it. However, in order to accomplish his goal, he had to endure it. For the sake of his comrades, his precious family, no price was too high. Having arrived at his humble home, Natsu went inside and got his belongings ready for his long perilous journey. The pinkette exited his home now ready to embark. He took one last look at his small home, before finally heading to Magnolia's train station. Natsu nearly passed out at the thought of stepping foot on the blasted thing. The man can take on legions of dark wizards and soldiers alike, but when it comes to transportation, you can forget it. Gathering all the resolve he could, whilst holding back his vomit, he stepped on to the train. As he found an empty seat to plop down on, he couldn't help but feel a little giddy. All negative feelings aside, this is the first time in a long time that he's actually left for a quest on his own. Natsu weakly smiled for what was to come. "I'm all fir-HMPH" Natsu's attempt at saying his catchphrase failed miserably, that poor man, he had a long rode ahead of him. With that, the train disappeared into the horizon.

—

Meanwhile back at the guild, a blue cat had just woken up from his nap. The furry blue exceed still felt groggy from his recent ciesta, and proceeded to rub the sleep from his eyes. The first thing Happy saw was a still dormant Carla right beside him. The blue feline smiled at this and continued to gaze at her affectionately, until his stomach rumbled pretty loudly. Carla shifted a little in her sleep, but nonetheless stayed asleep. Happy let out a sigh of relief, knowing Carla like he does there was no way he was going to be the cause of her waking up, he simply didn't want to face her wrath. Happy then realized something, ' _wait a sec, wasn't Natsu supposed to buy me some fish?_ ' the blue exceed thought to himself.

Happy activated his aera wings and flew up in the air to get a better vantage point of the guild, to see where his pink haired friend had run off to. Much to the little exceed's surprise, his partner in crime was nowhere to be found. Happy decided to go ask the members of Team Natsu if they knew were he had gone. Upon arriving at the bar, he deactivated his aera wings and dropped onto the countertop. Mira was the first to notice the blue cat, and she was not looking forward to telling him that his partner had left on a job without him. "Hey there Happy, what can I do for you?" Mira asked the exceed with a smile. "First off…" Happy started, ' _here it comes_ ' Mira thought to herself, by this time the rest of Team Natsu including Gray had noticed the exceed's arrival and looked at him warily. "Can you get me a fish Mira, please!" Happy exclaimed, drool running down the cat's cheek and a sparkle in his eyes. Mira and Team Natsu fell over at the cat's request. Of course he would ask about the fish first, it was pathetic really. After recovering from Happy's antics, Mira went and fetched him a couple of fish to snack on. With the blue cat now happily munching on his only favorite food, he remembered the other thing he was going to ask. "Oh I almost forgot, where's Natsu?" Happy mumbled through mouthfuls of fish. Mira and Team Natsu flinched at the question, the gig was up and now they would have to explain to the poor little exceed that his companion left for a job without him. "Well, you see Happy…" Mira began, but soon trailed off contemplating the best way to go about saying this. Erza decided to help Mira out, "He just left on a job not too long ago" stated the redhead. "Aw, and he didn't take me with him?" Happy asked, more to himself than to anyone else. "Ah well, he'll be back in a couple of days right? So no harm done." mumbled Happy as he continued to stuff his face with fish. Everyone sweatdropped at Happy's reaction to being left out of a mission with his best friend, but it would seem that the blue exceed just didn't really understand how long Natsu would really be gone. "Uh…no Happy, you misunderstand." Mira stated with serious eyes. "What'd ya mean?" Happy asked the barmaid, while picking up his fifth fish within the last two minutes. "I mean that the job that Natsu took will keep him out a few months at the very least, and since he went alone it might take even longer." Mira explained. "WHAT!" exclaimed a now very shocked Happy. After hearing this, he immediately spread his wings and flew as fast as he could towards the small home that he shared with said missing dragon slayer.

Happy could hear his teammates calling out to him to wait, but the blue exceed had to see if he could catch up to his partner. The cat made it to the little home in what seemed to be a couple of minutes, thanks to him flying at max speed. Happy burst through the door and immediately called out to his dragon slayer "Natsu, you in here?" When Happy didn't hear any reply, he decided to check around the house for any sign of the pinkette. It wasn't long before Happy found a note addressed to him from said fire dragon slayer. The note read

' _Happy,_

 _I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to say bye buddy. You looked looked so comfortable sleeping that I couldn't bring myself to wake you up. Anyway, as you can see I've left for a job and I won't be back for a while. You can stay home if ya want to, if not just go and bunk with either Wendy or Lucy. I'll make sure to get back home as soon as I can, and when I do we can go on a bunch more adventures together just like always. So for now, eat lots of fish and get some training in while I'm away. Till then, see ya later buddy._ _P.S - I left a huge tab open for you at the bar, so go nuts with the fish._ '

Tears streamed down the exceed's face upon realizing that he won't be seeing best friend for a long time. Happy just sat there for a while and continued to sob. Poor little guy, if he only knew how long he'd have to wait. Back at the guild, "I hope the little guy is alright, he absolutely adores Natsu" Lucy said with a somber look. "I'm sure he'll be fine, just give it some time" Gray said with confidence. Lucy nodded in affirmation and gave a small smile. Behind the bar, Mira had been cleaning off the same glass for a while now, she seemed to be lost in her thoughts. ' _Natsu…please come home safe and sound_ ' Mira thought to herself. The day wore on, and before anyone knew it the sun had begun to set. By this point in time many members had left for their homes, and now only a few remained. Team Natsu was now sitting at table discussing some things, while Mira was finishing up some chores around the guildhall.

Cana could be seen passed out on a table due to her excessive drinking habit, not to mention the poor souls around her who thought they could actually win in a drinking contest against her. All in all, the guild had quieted down for the day as it was soon to be closed. Mira had finished her rounds and joined Team Natsu in conversation for a bit. They were all about to call it a night, until Happy suddenly floated through the open guild doors. The blue exceed landed on the table where everyone was gathered. "Happy…" Carla called out before anyone else. The white exceed walked over to the blue cat and brought him into an embrace. Carla could clearly see that he had be crying, and she knew all to well what he was going through. The bond that the exceeds shared with their dragon slayers was incredibly deep, so even if it's something as simple as not seeing their companions for a bit, it still made them sad.

Team Natsu and Mira smiled at this exchange. Wendy in particular was overjoyed to see Carla comfort Happy, knowing how Carla feels about the blue exceed. This scene however, only made her wish that her favorite pinkette was here so that she could also embrace him. "By the way Happy" Lucy started "If you don't want to stay at your house alone, you can stay with me if you'd like" Lucy offered with a warm smile on her face. Happy, now free from Carla's embrace, simply looked at Lucy and nodded with a small smile. Not too long after, they all shuffled out the guildhall and Mira locked up for the night. "Well I guess I'll see you all tomorrow then" Mira stated with a smile, before parting ways with the group and heading home. "Bye Mira" they all said in unison. Team Natsu then follow in suit. Wendy, Carla, and Erza said their good nights before making their way towards Fairy Hills. Gray patted Happy while giving a couple words of encouragement to the little cat, before bidding the two goodnight and making his way to his own home. On the way to Lucy's apartment, Happy spoke for the first time in a while, his voice a bit horse due to all his sobbing from earlier. "L-Lucy…" Happy croaked. "What is it little guy?" Lucy inquired looking down to where she was holding the exceed. "Do you think Natsu will be home soon?" Happy asked in a sad tone. Lucy's eyes softened and her voice was sweet, "I'm sure he will" she replied warmly. The moon shone brightly that night, accompanied by a gentle cool breeze, what a beautiful night it was.

—

Weeks had passed since the guilds favorite pink haired dragon slayer had departed for his quest, but this didn't stop the guild from its usual comings and goings. Team Natsu had taken many jobs since then, and they weren't about to stop anytime soon. After all they needed something to occupy their time. It wasn't until several months had come and gone without so much as a single word as to where Natsu was, that worry truly began to sink in. After a year and a half had passed the cheerful atmosphere that saturated the guild slowly began to fade away.

One day, Team Natsu returned from a job with sullen faces as they have been since the new year had begun. The team had recently started to take extra time durning their missions to ask around concerning Natsu's whereabouts, all to no avail as no one knew where he was. The team also sported one new member, a certain rain woman known as Juvia Lockser. Juvia had joined them in hopes of helping them find the missing pinkette, and also to be closer to her boyfriend Gray. Most of the team sat at a table in a far corner of the guild, but Erza sat at the bar. Erza stared at her strawberry cake for what seemed like hours, her mind caught in a vice of never ending worry and despair. Mira wasn't much better. She almost appeared to be on autopilot, lifeless and empty. Many of the other guild members looked to be in a similar state.

*CRASH* the sound of broken glass echoed loudly through the silent guildhall, as it had been so quiet that you could hear a pen drop. Everyone looked at Erza in shock, who was now standing up with her head down, her hair obscuring her expression. Everyone in the guild continued to look at Erza who had just tossed her favorite cake to the ground, this caused everyone to become quite concerned for the requip wizard. Her cake was so important to her that she would beat you for even badmouthing it, so to see her do something of this nature was quite unsettling indeed.

Mira decided to break the silence first, "Erza are you alri-" but before Mira could even finish her question the redhead interrupted. "I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!" Erza screamed, her voice clearly laced with agony as she continued "HOW DARE HE MAKE US WORRY LIKE THIS, I HAVE HALF A MIND TO BEAT HIM TO DEATH THE NEXT TIME I SEE HIM!" Erza roared, but her onslaught proceeded. "HOW CAN HE BE SO SELFISH? DOESN'T HE KNOW WHAT HE'S DOING TO US?" Erza questioned as she seethed in anger, tears threatening to spill over. "E-Erza…please cal-" Mira stammered trying to calm her friend down, but was interrupted yet again. "NO! I WILL NOT CALM DOWN, THIS HAS GONE ON LONG ENOUGH, WE ARE GOING TO GO LOOK FOR HIM RIGHT NOW!" Erza bellowed while shifting her gaze over to the table Team Natsu was currently occupying. Lucy, Wendy, and Juvia were now in tears at the spectacle that was before them. Gray comforted Juvia and the exceeds tried to do the same with the other two. Erza still in her rage, made her way over to her team. "GET UP!" she shouted, causing everyone at the table to flinch at her tone. "WE ARE LEAVING TO GO FIND HIM RIGHT NOW!" said Erza with unmistakable conviction. Everyone at the table began to get up seeing as they didn't seem to have a choice in the matter, that is until a booming voice stopped them all in their tracks. "THAT IS QUITE ENOUGH!" boomed a gruff voice coming from the second floor.

All eyes where now on the master who seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Erza glared at the little old man, still ravaged by uncontrollable rage and sorrow. Makarov returned Erza's heated glare with his own. "No one is going anywhere" stated the old man in a deadly serious tone, yet calmer than before. "BUT MASTER WE CAN'T JU-!" Erza cried out, but was interrupted by the master before she finished. "I CAN'T LOSE ANY MORE OF MY CHILDREN!" Makarov shouted, pain clearly evident in his voice. This remark caused the entire guild to gasp. ' _What did he mean he can't lose anyone else? Natsu wasn't dea-_ ' Erza shook the thought out of her head. "Master…" Erza finally spoke in a calmer, yet unsteady tone. "Y-You can't mean…" her voice trailing off before she could say the unthinkable. "No my child it isn't what you are thinking. It is just that we haven't the faintest idea as to where he is, and going on a blind goose chase is not going to help anyone." Makarov stated, sorrow saturating his voice. "For now, we must continue to have faith that he lives on and will come back home soon" Makarov concluded, his head hanging. ' _I should have never let him go on that blasted journey of his!_ ' Makarov thought to himself, grief now overwhelming him. ' _At the very least he shouldn't have gone alone_ ' the old man thought as a tear escaped his eye. Sniffles and sobs could be heard throughout the guild, this was a sorrowful day indeed. Finally the tears that Erza had been holding back, came crashing out as she slowly fell to her knees letting the tears she'd held back for so long flow without restraint. Mira walked over to Erza with tears flowing as well, and wrapped the redhead in an embrace to comfort her. It goes without saying that for the rest of that day, no one took any jobs or even went home for that matter. They all stayed together and comforted one another until they all fell asleep, all of them with hopes in their hearts that the goofy pink haired dragon slayer that they all loved would walk through those doors soon. Little did they know that a year and half later they would get their wish.

[ _ **Flash-Back End**_ ]

"Gray…Gray…GRAY!" The ice-make wizard was snapped out of his stupor upon hearing someone shout his name. He looked up to see a worried Mira staring at him. "I'm sorry what did you say Mira?" Gray asked while pinching the bridge of his nose. "I was asking you if you were alright, and also to see if you wanted a refill." Mira stated still concerned about his wellbeing. "I'm fine Mira, you don't have to worry yourself. Also yeah, let me get another one please" Gray responded solemnly. Mira could tell that Gray wasn't really alright, but she decided to leave him be for the moment and tended to his order.

As Gray waited for his refreshment he took a good look around the Guildhall. Surprisingly, the guild was more occupied than it usually was. This was kind of rare considering that ever since Natsu left most people would be out on jobs. Looking over into a particular corner of the guild, Gray spotted Wendy with Happy and Carla sitting on the table in front of her. Now this was a truly rare sight. As far back as Gray could remember, after a year and a half had passed with no sign of Natsu's return, Wendy's presence and eventually the two exceeds as well became scarce. She would take on jobs with the team every now and then, but she would primarily go on solo missions with the exceeds. And if Wendy wasn't on a mission, she was at Fairy Hills crying her heart out. Gray cringed at the thought. ' _Flame-Brain…you are going to have some major explaining to do when you get back_ ' thought Gray as he took a swig from his mug.

Apart from being surprised to see Wendy at the guild, he was even more surprised to see the likes of Laxus and the Thunder Legion, and even Gajeel and Panther Lily. Gray took all of this in and finally came to the conclusion that something was off about the scene he was currently observing. He decided to ask Mira if she had any idea as to why the guild was so full today. "Hey Mira…" Gray called the barmaid, getting her attention he proceeded to ask her his question. "Do you have any idea why the guildhall is so packed today? Not that I'm complaining, it's great to see everyone here, but it's strange given all thats been going on recently" Gray inquired curiously. Mira was actually wondering the same thing. Earlier this morning there weren't nearly this many members here, and now it would seem that just about everyone is here. Well, except for Gildarts and Natsu that is. Just as Mira was about to answer Gray, the sound of bells filled the air.

Everyone in Magnolia knew what those bell's tolls signified, Gildarts was home. ' _Speaking of the crash wizard…_ ' Mira thought to herself with a smile. "Please prepare for the Gildarts Magnolia Shift" touted a magical airhorn, announcing the arrival of Fairy Tail's Ace. "Citizens please report to your designated safety zones, the Gildarts Magnolia Shift is about to commence! I repeat the Gildarts Magnolia Shift is about to commence!" The announcer ceased it's warning as all of Magnolia began to rumble and eventually split apart revealing a walkway and a single cloaked man making his way down the middle of it. Everyone hovered around the entrance and waited patiently for the crash wizard to arrive at the guild.

Gildarts had been aware of the whole situation concerning Natsu. The crash wizard had left on his job request only a couple of weeks before the pinkette left for his. As a matter of fact, he actually crossed paths with the fire dragon slayer a couple of months into his journey in a town know as Tigerlily. But ever since then, he hadn't heard about or seen the boy at all. Gildarts contemplated all of this as he made his way up the final ramp to reach the guild, where everyone was waiting on him. Once Gildarts reached the guild he was immediately bombarded with greetings, embraces, and more questions than he could think to answer. It was a good change in pace, all of this. Even though it wasn't Natsu who came through those guild doors, a nostalgic feeling crept up on everyone in the guild. A feeling that hadn't been felt for few years now, what else could it be? But happiness itself.

A few hours passed, since Gildarts' arrival and he was still getting bombarded with questions. Most of the questions were mostly centered around one thing, or rather one person that is. It was Gray who asked the question everyone wanted to know the answer to. "Oi, old man! Did you see the Flame-Brain while you were out?" Gildarts could only chuckle as everyone in the guild, including the master, leaned in ever closer to hear his response. "As a matter of fact, I did" Gildarts replied with a crooked goofy grin spread across his face. Upon hearing this, the guild erupted into a sea of whispers wondering what the crash wizard would say next on the matter. With this revelation, every single member of Team Natsu became wide-eyed mouths slightly ajar. "Where? Where did you see him?" Erza asked the man frantically. "Did he seem ok when you saw him?" Wendy interjected. "Relax everyone" Gildarts stated, causing everyone to grow silent in order to listen to what the crash wizard was going to say. "Now" Gildarts started "As to where I saw Natsu, it actually wasn't too far from here. We crossed paths in a little town about a five days walk from here, called Tigerlily" Gildarts stated with a thoughtful look on his face. "We had dinner together and we caught up with each other for a bit before we had a battle to see where he was at strength-wise" Gildarts smiled at this last statement. It really did seem like the fire dragon slayer had no limits, as Gildarts had to actually use about 70% of his total strength to actually fend off some of the pinkette's attacks.

Remembering that Wendy had asked him a question, the crash wizard withdrew from his memories. "My my Wendy, you sure have grown" Gildarts remarked with a huge grin. The sky dragon slayer could only sweatdrop at the man's previous statement, a little pink gracing her cheeks. This remark earned the crash wizard a heated glare from his daughter Cana, who also slapped him silly. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Ok ok I get it, I'm sorry!" Gildarts cried out after being assaulted by his daughter. "Anyway…" Gildarts carried on "He looked just fine, when I saw him last" Wendy let out small sigh of relief hearing this. Even though it was a small solace, it was something. "However…" Gildarts began again. Wendy's relief was then cut short, so much for that. "When I was leaving the small town, I found this at the border" Gildarts turned to his satchel and removed a white scarf with a scaly pattern on it.

The mood in the room was pretty lively all things considered, but after seeing this famous scarf, it quickly dissipated. They all just stood there, staring at the scarf, even Gildarts was silent. "Oh, so that's were that was…" said a voice that was impossible to mistake. Everyone in the guild slowly turned around to see with their eyes, just in case their ears where playing tricks on them. At the guilds entrance stood a young man with long pink hair that reached down to his shoulders, and was slicked back with a few loose strands sticking up at the front. It could also be seen that his muscles were more defined, his face more angular and mature. He wore a black cloak/poncho that covered most of his upper body with a vest underneath, both sporting gold lining. To top it all off, he wore a pair of black cargo pants along with a pair of black combat boots. You'd think that everyone in the guild had seen a ghost. Though to be fair, that's not too far from the truth. A massive grin spread across Gildarts' face "Speak of the Fire Dragon…" the crash wizard mumbled. All of the members of Team Natsu were dumbfounded, just like that… all of their anxieties, all of their despair gone in the blink of an eye. The only thing that remained were tears, tears of pure joy. Even Gray was teary, though he looked away as if he wasn't interested. Unable to move or speak, they just stood there wide-eyed with tears rolling down their cheeks. The pinkette then locked eyes with his teammates, and what he saw in those eyes…was sorrow. The pinkette decided to deal with that later, right now he just wanted to enjoy this moment. Natsu then flashed his usual toothy grin and then said "yo! What's up guys?"

* * *

 **That's it for the first chapter everyone. Forgive me if it's too lengthy for your tastes, too be perfectly honest this is my first time writing anything. There will be mistakes and all that jazz cuz I'm a noob. At any rate please leave a review for me if you happen to give this story a look, it would be much appreciated. I need all the feedback I can get to improve, or give up lol. Please be gentle, thanks again for your interest. peace out!**


	2. The Return

**Welcome back everyone to the second chapter of "A Flame of Black & Teal". I'm sorry it took a bit to get this done, as I meant to have this out to you guys yesterday, but life happened so yeah. **

**On another note, don't forget to cast your votes! Head over to the poll on my user page and pick out two girls who you'd like to see crush on Natsu. Don't worry about time, you guys have plenty as I won't be taking the poll down till around the 5th chapter which could be sometime next week or ever later who knows.**

 **One last thing before the chapter. I don't know if you guys read the latest FT chapter, but I'm still reeling from it. I'm not going to spoil anything for ya'll just go read it, its worth it. So without further adieu, please enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

 **THE RETURN**

The guildhall was still utterly quiet, no doubt it had to do with the young man that just walked in. Even the Master was at a loss for words having his mouth agape, and eyes bugging out in complete disbelief. Could life get any crazier? What are the odds that right after Gildarts of all people shows up, the pinkette everyone longed to see, walks in out of the blue like nothing?

—

Natsu took the opportunity to grab a chair and sit down, before the inevitable onslaught that are his guild mates commenced. Once seated, the pinkette looked back up at his guild mates, who were still unmoving and recovering from shock. "I know you guys probably have a bunch of questions, but…can we just skip that part for now and party?" Natsu inquired sporting his signature toothy grin. For about the space of a moment nothing happened, then out of nowhere everyone erupted into shouts and cries of glee. Faster than Natsu would have believed possible, more than half of the guild members were already tackling him to the ground. "Argh! Can't….breath!" Natsu barely managed to mutter, whilst still being body piled. It truly was a sight to behold, all of the guild members crying and laughing, such fierce happiness, such a warm atmosphere, it was a scene that could bring just about anyone to tears.

Makarov and Gildarts stood at a distance watching the scene that was before them. Both of them sported smiles so huge, that it's quite possible they might be stuck like that. A few more moments passed the titan wizard climbed onto a table to make an announcement. "Everyone please settle down, before you kill the poor boy!" Makarov yelled with a slight chuckle. Everyone gave the fire dragon slayer some room, poor fellow nearly suffocated to death. All eyes were on the Master as he was about to speak. "Natsu…" the old man stated softly, but continued "I'm glad you made home safely my boy" Makarov ended with a smile. "IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED ME TO SAY!?" the titan wizard exclaimed with a massively overgrown head, as everyone around him sweat-dropped. "YOU NUMBSKULL! WHAT THE HECK DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING? TAKING YOUR SWEET TIME! WHY I OUGHTA…" Makarov was about to jump the pinkette himself, but Gildarts held him back. After the old man composed himself he spoke again. "Ahem…Well, we can deal with that later. For now, LET'S PARTY!" and the guild went absolutely nuts.

—

They partied, and partied, and partied. The sounds of the celebration were so loud, people in town could hear them. It's pretty safe to say that 'Chaotic' was a generous term for what could be seen going on inside the guild hall. In the middle of the hall you could see Gray, Natsu, and Romeo partaking in an eating contest devouring the food like a pack of wolves. At the bar Cana, Wakaba, Macao, Makarov, and Gildarts could be seen chugging down the booze like there was no tomorrow. Also for no apparent reason, there were brawls all over the place. It would seem that just the mere presence of Natsu caused these. Furniture flew, insults were spewed, and hearty laughter rang out, this feeling…is something that Fairy Tail had been missing for a very long time. Outside of the guild, some of the citizens passing by could only smile at the ongoing festivities. "Welcome back" stated one of the onlookers as they carried on about their business. The party literally lasted the entire day, and now the sun was setting on Magnolia dazzling the skyline in streaks of orange and pink. Normally this would be the point where everyone would be heading home, however today is not one of those days. The guild had grown quiet and the moon hung low, as it was exceptionally late now.

At the very center of the hall, Natsu was sleeping surrounded by his team and exceeds who were doing the same. What a precious sight, what a wonderful night. Just like the night long ago when despair had gripped the hearts of the guild members, no one attempted to leave, they all slept peacefully. The underlying difference between back then and now, was that the tears once shed in heart ache were now replaced with smiles and warmth.

—

"Gaaaaaaahaaa…" Natsu yawned while stretching his muscles. The pinkette sat up and took in his surroundings, a wide smile grew on his lips as he saw his still sleeping teammates all around him. He stood up carefully so as not to disturb any of them and made his way towards the guildhall's entrance. Once outside, Natsu walked over to a railing a couple of yards away from the guild and leaned on it, looking down at the town in front of him.

It was early in the morning, the sun being low in the sky giving it's soft light. Natsu could see many of the vendors below getting ready for the day to come, while some people were walking their pets and others were going for a morning run. Many things were running through the pinkette's mind as he observed the town below him. He knew that everyone in the guild, especially the Master and his team were going to want an explanation as to what he's been doing these past three years. One thing the fire dragon slayer knew for sure, was that it was going to be a long day and there are going to be some stories that he might not want to recount out of fear that Erza might kill him, or at least she'll try.

Back at guild, a certain bluenette started to stir and eventually woke up. Wendy let out a silent yawn while stretching the sleep out. The sky dragon slayer looked around smiling at still dormant guild members around her, until she noticed something was missing or rather someone. Wendy felt a familiar sense of dread rising in her as she noticed the pinkette's absence. ' _No no no no no…_ ' she thought to herself as she began to stand up. ' _Was it all a dream? I-It couldn't be…_ ' Wendy thought continuing to panic. The bluenette ran to the guilds entrance and out the doors, causing a few members to stir. Wendy didn't make it far before she noticed someone in the distance leaning on a rail, and catching a glimpse of pink hair flowing in the wind she let out a deep sigh of relief. She had gotten worked up over nothing, but honestly it's not like it wasn't warranted.

Wendy walked up to the pinkette who was still mixed up in his own thoughts. The bluenette leaned on the railing next to him and looked up at him. She noticed that his eyes were closed, with his hand propping up his head, a disgruntled look on his face. Wendy smiled at him, ' _He looks so cute making that face_ ' Wendy thought to herself. After a couple moments of just gazing at the pinkette, the sky dragon slayer finally broke the silence. "Hey Natsu!" Wendy said with a smile. Natsu was pulled out of his thoughts by the familiar voice. "Oh hey Wendy what's up? How'd ya sleep?" Natsu asked grinning back at her, while also mentally noting that he must have been really out of it to not notice her right next to him. "mmm.." Wendy hummed before continuing "It was the best sleep I've had in a long time" she stated still smiling. "Really? You know you slept on a hardwood floor right?" Natsu asked quizzically, wondering how anyone could find that comfortable. "It's because you came back Natsu" Wendy said, a faint blush gracing her cheeks. Natsu's heart took a hit and his eyes took on a somber look. He had yet to find out just how much he had hurt everyone, and she was just the first of many. "Wendy I…" Natsu started, but was thrown off when he was suddenly embraced by Wendy. "N-Natsu…I t-thought y-y-you were never going to come back" Wendy cried, tears beginning to fall. "I-I was so scared that you had… that you had…" Wendy stammered unable to finish the thought. Natsu stood there surprised by this action, what had he done? The pinkette wrapped his arms around the sky dragon slayer, returning her embrace. "Wendy…" Natsu said with regret in his voice. "I'm so sorry, I've hurt you so much…" the pinkette stated remorsefully.

Wendy continued to hold him tight while sobbing into his neck. ' _He's…so…warm_ ' Wendy thought to herself, this was a feeling she missed, a feeling she longed for. Natsu spoke again "I don't know if I can forgive myself for making you and the others hurt this way, but I hope that you can forgive me" Natsu said, wearing a downcast expression. Wendy recomposed herself and replied to the now solemn pinkette. "Natsu, it's ok don't say things like that. I'm just glad you are home safe and sound" Wendy said, still resting her head on the fire dragon slayer's chest. Natsu wore a weak smile a this response, he knew that it would take more than this to heal the hearts he broke, all he could do now was be there for his friends and in time they will heal.

"Well then…we should head back inside, the others are probably waking up now" Natsu said plainly, starting to pull away from Wendy. The bluenette pouted internally because she wanted to keep hugging him, but pulled away as well. "Ok then Natsu. Let's go back" Wendy said with beautiful smile aimed at the pinkette. Natsu gave her his iconic toothy grin and then proceeded to walk towards the guildhall, the bluenette by his side. "Say Wendy…" Natsu started while observing the sky dragon slayer "You got taller didn't you?" he asked with certainty in his voice. "Yeah, but just a bit though" Wendy replied giggling a bit seeing as it took the pinkette a while to notice. The sky dragon slayer didn't just get taller, in the time that Natsu was gone she had grown into a full blown woman, now at the age of eighteen. Her body was also more defined, long blue silky hair that reached down to her lower back, a more narrow face giving her a mature look, bright chocolate-caramel eyes and dangerous curves that would make weaker men fall before her. But of course Natsu only noticed her height difference. The man was hopeless when it came to these types of things.

As the two made their way back to the guild, there was a certain barmaid that was peaking on the two from inside the hall, who witnessed the entire exchange between the two slayers. A smirk spread across Mira's face as she ceased her peeking and leaned against the wall. "Game on Wendy…game on" Mira said silently to herself with determination burning in her eyes.

—

Morning passed by quickly, and it took till about noon for everyone in the guild to finally wake up. There were members by the request board ready to take on a new job, Mira along with lisanna were serving breakfast to various tables, a couple of tussles had broken out (no surprise there), and everyone else just seemed to be enjoying each others company. At a table in the corner of the guild, Team Natsu was discussing what they should do today, but they were more so waiting for the pinkette to finish a debrief with the Master.

"Do you think Natsu is going to tell us what happened while he was out?" Lucy asked curiously. "All I know is the fire breather better, or I'll have to beat it out of him" Gray stated nonchalantly while removing his waistcoat. "I'm going to have to agree with Gray on this matter" Erza spoke with fire in her tone and an ominous aura to match. Wendy and Lucy began to cower in their seats at Erza's sudden spike in intensity. "Uh..Erza, are you sure that's a good idea? I-I think that kind of plan might make him not wanna say anything" Wendy stuttered still cowering. Erza simply looked at the sky dragon slayer with a slightly evil glint in her eyes. "It's always worked in the past, has it not?" Erza remarked with an evil grin.

Wendy, Gray, and Lucy sweat-dropped at Erza's antics, Happy on the other hand had an almost similar maniacal look on his face. "What in Earthland is that face all about?" Carla inquired giving the blue exceed a questioning look. "Oh nothing…I just get to see Erza put the smackdown on Natsu. Glorious payback time!" Happy raved now standing in front of Erza with the same glint in his eyes both of them cackling evilly. Carla face palmed and the other three sweat-dropped yet again. This couldn't end well. "What are we gonna do with you two…" Lucy mumbled with a half smile, then continued "Let's just order some breakfast while we wait for Natsu to come back down" Lucy said whilst waving over Lisanna so they could order.

—

On the second floor in the Master's office, Natsu was giving the old man a quick run down of what had happened during his travels. "YOU RAN INTO WHO!?" Makarov shouted incredulously, without the fear of being heard due to his office sporting runes that prevent any sound from leaving the room. Gildarts was also in the office wearing a disbelieving look of his own, after taking in the information Natsu just gave. "Get the wax out of your ear Gramps, I said I had a run in with Acnologia" Natsu said with a serious expression. "How did ya manage to get away?" asked a curious Gildarts, who was now rubbing at his old wounds inflicted upon him by the black dragon in question. "I didn't…" Natsu said stern faced. "What do you mean? You're alive aren't you?" the crash wizard claimed. "If ya quit flapping your gums for a sec I'll tell ya" Natsu stated slightly irritated with the constant interruptions.

At this, Gildarts and Makarov sat quietly allowing the fire dragon slayer to continue. "Like I was saying before, I did't get away and it was one of a couple of situations were I thought I wasn't going to make it back home…" Natsu trailed off, reminiscing on his perilous encounters. "Anyway, it was about four months into my journey. I was on the outskirts of a city called Jasmine following a rumor I heard from a pub in the city, the rumor referring to a dragon sighting. I figured it had to be Acnologia considering that there are no other dragons left. If you guys remember, the last time we saw Acnologia was during the Alvarez war and we thought that we weren't going to make it. But for some reason after I defeated Zeref, Acnologia stopped attacking and left" Natsu explained while maintaining a straight face. The Master and the crash wizard shuddered at the memory, this was not something they wanted to remember as the dragon had nearly wiped them all out.

The two older men then focused their attention again towards the pinkette, and waited for him to continue his story. "As you know Gramps, this was one of the reasons I left in the first place. The sudden change in Acnologia's behavior had me curious for years, till I finally decided to go investigate it myself. All the stories and sightings since the war, they all have one thing in common, and that is they all end peacefully. When have you ever heard of anything that had to do with Acnologia that didn't involve some type of mass destruction?" Natsu said. This new information caused the two sitting across from the fire dragon slayer to raise a brow, if their curiosity wasn't peaked before…it is now. "But that's not even the crazy part" Natsu proceeded to speak again "After I had reached the location I heard about from the rumor, which was the mountain pass beyond the city limits, I eventually ran into a wanderer wearing a black cloak. It didn't take me long to realize who it was, I never forget a smell and the scent I picked up from the stranger was that of Acnologia. I'd heard that Acnologia could turn into a human at will, but I had never seen it first hand. So I confronted Acnologia, ready to face the man who had caused us so much suffering in the past. But then…" Natsu chuckled lightly as he finished his last statement, remembering the surprise he felt back then.

"Instead of facing a man like I thought I was going to, one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen turned to look at me with tears in her eyes" Natsu still slightly smiling from the memory. "SAY WHAT!?" both Gildarts and the Master exclaimed, before falling over from the sheer shock of what the pinkette just said. "Pretty much my reaction exactly" Natsu said while laughing at their antics. "Ok, that completely caught me off guard" Gildarts remarked after recomposing himself. "What happened next my boy?" asked the titan wizard who was still reeling after that bombshell. Natsu pondered this for a moment before answering. "The last thing I remember was Acnologia calling out to me while sprinting at me, then everything just faded to black…" Natsu trailed off, as he himself was still unsure about what really happened that day. "Next thing I know, I'm in a hotel room thanking Mavis I wasn't blown to bits. But there is something you guys should see" Natsu said whilst beginning to remove his cloak and vest. The pinkette stood bare chested as he pointed to a mark on his left pectoral.

Makarov and Gildarts looked at the mark intently, confusion and uncertainty quickly flooding their expressions. The mark in question began on the fire dragon slayers chest and continued down his body before stopping near his lower abdomen. The pattern was pretty unique to say the least. Blue flamelike swirls decorated the top of the mark, but then flared out flowing all the way to it's end, the entirety of the mark outlined in black. If you looked closely, you could see the mark faintly surging as if it were alive. "Natsu…what is this" Makarov asked slowly. "I'm still not sure yet Gramps, but you better believe I'm going to find out" Natsu said with a look of determination. Over in the corner, Gildarts was processing all of this information only to realize the pinkette failed to mention an important detail. "So what happened to Acnologia?" Gildarts inquired his face becoming serious. After putting his vest and cloak back on, Natsu rubbed the back of his head and stated "That too is a mystery. When I woke up in the hotel I was alone and there was no trace of Acnologia's scent."

Gildarts sighed at Natsu's response, "well I guess we can just leave it at that for now, until we get some more information" stated the crash wizard wearing a thoughtful expression. "There is much to consider and we must act a swiftly as we can, but for now I'm glad that you are home my boy" Makarov stated with a large smile. Natsu could only grin back widely at the titan wizard. "Is there anything else you'd like to share with us before we head back down?" Makarov inquired giving the the fire dragon slayer an intrigued look. "There is a bunch more Gramps, I was gone for three years ya know. But we should probably talk about it downstairs so everyone can listen in, I'm sure they'll want to know as well" Natsu stated with a caring face. "As you wish then" Makarov complied. With that the three exited the office and made their way downstairs.

—

"Ugh…what is taking him so long?" Erza asked impatiently to no one in particular. The scarlet haired wizard could be found at the bar now, eating a piece of her favorite strawberry cake. The pinkette in question had been away for about an hour or so and the pace in the guild had changed ever so slightly. Levy, Laki, and Evergreen had went into town to do a little shopping, Gajeel could be seen in a corner napping with lily lying on the dragon slayer's head doing the same. Macao and Wakaba were trying to one up each other as per usual, while Cana sat by them holding her barrel laughing her head off. Nab could be seen loitering by the request board still trying to find a job that best suits him, although we know that there is more of a chance of Happy taking over the world than Nab getting a job. The remainder of Team Natsu were still sitting at the table they were occupying this morning, and were now chatting with one another while Happy chased Carla around trying to profess his love for the white exceed. All in all, the atmosphere in the guild was pretty relaxed.

Back at bar, Mira giggled at Erza's frustration and decided to distract the requip wizard. "Relax Erza, I'm sure he'll be down any second now" Mira said with her usual smile. "Fine then…but I want another piece of cake" Ezra responded pouting. "Coming right up!" Mira sang, trying not to laugh at Titania's expression. Moments later Natsu, Gildarts, and Makarov descended to the first floor and made their way over to the bar where they took a seat. Erza was so enthralled with her cake that she failed to notice the three that had just arrived, that is until Mira addressed them of course. "Hey there gentlemen, what can I do for you?" Mira asked the three sporting a dazzling smile, that was more so directed towards the pinkette. "Yo Mira!" Natsu said returning the smile. The other two ordered some drinks, and Erza nearly choked on her last piece of cake hearing Natsu's voice right next to her.

"Whoa, you alright there Erza?" Natsu asked while patting the scarlet haired girl on the back. "N-Natsu? When did you get here?" asked a slightly flustered Erza. Natsu laughed at her reaction, causing the requip wizard to blush. "Wow Erza, I see you haven't changed much when it comes to that cake. You were totally in la la land" Natsu jested while poking the girl playfully. This caused Erza to blush even deeper a tick mark forming on her head, then without warning slapped the laughing fire dragon slayer upside the head. "Ow! Geez what gives Erza? I was just teasing" Natsu blurted out rubbing the back of his head gingerly. "Yup, you asked for that one" Gildarts remarked taking a swig from his mug. "Shut it Gildarts!" Natsu said slightly annoyed at the crash wizards remark. While Erza took the time to recompose herself from her embarrassment, Mira decided to ask about the meeting. "So Master, how was the meeting?" the barmaid asked the titan wizard curiously. "It went just fine, though to say I was shocked would be an understatement" Makarov mused as he continued to mull over the previous meetings events. "Hoh, and what makes you say that" Mira inquired, now leaning in closer as the conversation proved to become more intriguing. "Let's just say things didn't end up being how we thought they would be" Gildarts interjected answering the barmaids query. "Speaking of which, I think you owe the team and I an explanation. It'd had better be a good one or you shall suffer the consequences" Erza said now glaring at the pinkette, her ominous aura beginning to flare up. "Yeah sure, in a bit" Natsu responded nonchalantly, catching the scarlet haired girl off guard. ' _Since when is he not scared of me? That usually always works_ ' Erza thought to herself.

Looking away from the requip wizard Natsu continued "Right now I just wan-" but before the fire dragon slayer could finish his statement, Mira had just set down an assortment of flaming food and drink before the pinkette. "Whooooooaaaa!" Natsu blurted out, his face instantaneously ravenous at the display before him. "It's on the house" Mira said in a sultry tone, giving the fire dragon slayer a wink. Erza noticed the barmaids sexy tone and the wink, and couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy giving the barmaid a subtle glare. Mira didn't miss the glare and she stuck her tongue out at the scarlet warrior. Taken aback Erza could only sit there with her mouth agape, anger slowly rising. Of course Natsu didn't notice any of this as he was salivating like a madman, his eyes on the prize as it were. "Mira you're an angel!" Natsu exclaimed as he proceeded to dig in. "Oh Natsu it's nothing really, no need for all of that" Mira stated in a cute voice while maintaining eye contact with Erza, who at this point was fuming.

"Mira, you need to stop pampering him" Erza stated with a subtle growl lacing her voice. "Hoh, and why's that? Could it be that…you're jealous?" Mira replied with a sadistic grin spreading across her face. Oh…now it was on. Erza butted her head against Mira's and began to tell her off "So what you're saying is that you are ready for death." "Oh I don't know about that, but even though it's been a while I'm pretty sure I can still kick that flabby butt of yours" the barmaid retorted pushing the scarlet warrior back with her forehead. "Why you little wench!" Erza hissed. "Ugly prude!" Mira spat back. While this spectacle was unfolding, the pinkette looked up from his meal to observe the two females on the verge of killing each other. "Was up wiff dem?" Natsu asked whilst chewing on a flaming stake. "You idiot…" Gildarts and Makarov stated in unison. ' _The boy has two unmistakably gorgeous women fighting over him and he doesn't even have a clue. Lucky bastard_ ' Gildarts thought to himself with a smile.

The comment from his mentor and Master got the pinkette slightly irritated, but he dismissed it and continued his onslaught. Over in the corner of the guild the remnants of Team Natsu, and apparently Lisanna who had joined them some time ago, were taking notice to the havoc transpiring at the bar. "Uh…What's going on over there?" said a throughly confused Lucy. "Wow, I haven't seen Mira like this since we were kids" Lisanna stated, a slight look of disbelief on her face. "Yeah me either…and since when did the Flame-Brain get back down here?" Gray asked with a puzzled look, also wearing nothing but his birthday suit. "k-kyaaaaaaaaa! Gray for the love of Mavis, put on some freakin' clothes!" Wendy yelped covering her eyes. "HOLY CRAP!" Gray shouted as he scrambled to find his clothing. Lucy face palmed "It's a miracle I haven't gone insane yet" the celestial wizard groaned. Lisanna let out a giggle at the blonde's frustrations, "Oh you know you love it." Lucy shot Lisanna a playful glare "Yeah I guess. At any rate why don't we go talk to Natsu, he might even tell us about his adventure!" the celestial wizard mused.

Gray finally managing to clothe himself again like a decent Human being should, looked at Lucy like she had lost her mind. "Are you freakin' kidding me? I'm not going anywhere near that" the ice-make wizard gestured over to the pandemonium that was taking place several feet away. "Let's just wait it out so we don't get mercilessly beat to death on accident" Gray suggested, shivers going down his spine at the thought. "You know on second thought, that's not such a bad idea" Lucy agreed now nervous at the brawls escalation in intensity. "Lisanna, your sister is…kinda scary" Wendy noted as she began to cower ever so slightly at the ominous auras that were being emitted from the scarlet warrior and the barmaid. "Haha, you're telling me. I used to live with this everyday when I was younger, but I wonder what has her this riled up?" Lisanna said still completely lost observing the current situation.

Back at the bar things weren't looking so hot, as Erza and Mira were on the verge of an all out battle to the death. Both Gildarts and Makarov we're shaking their heads at the silliness, while Natsu on the other hand had just finished his meal, which alone could have fed a small village. The pinkette sighed in satisfaction rubbing his stomach which was very rotund at the moment. With a slap to the belly and a belch his stomach returned to his usual sculpted abdomen. It would seem that this man possesses a metabolism forged by the gods themselves, how very envious. Natsu then turned his attention to the smackdown that was occurring not but five feet from him, tilting his head in confusion. Erza and Mira had finally hit the breaking point, and now it was time to end this. "All right you foul witch, say your prayers for today shall be your last!" Erza shrieked with a glare that could kill kittens on sight. "Bring it on thunder thighs!" Mira snapped back, wearing a malicious grin clearly enjoying this way too much. "THAT DOES IT! **HEAVENS WHEEL ARMOR** " Erza screamed as she dawned of her signature armor that clothed her in silver feather-like metal, from her wings to her skirt. " **TAKE OVER: SATAN SOUL** " Mira bellowed as she also transformed into her She-Devil form, a large crack appeared down her right eye while also having a reptilian-like tail sprout from her back, as well as gauntlet looking claws, bat-like wings sprouting from her back. Both of them began to charge their attacks, Erza summoning countless swords, and Mira charging a ball of dark energy. Then…they charged "Haaaaaaaaaaaaagh!" they both cried out as they flew towards each other. Everyone one in the guild at this point was bracing for impact, because surely when these attacks collide, there will be nothing left.

The girls were inches from each other about to land their attacks when suddenly, they stopped midair surrounded by…flaming rings? The rings themselves where not hot, but rather extremely cold to the touch, their color being that of a very light orange, all the while rotating as if it were some sort of gyroscope. Erza and Mira looked at each other with baffled expressions, wondering how something could stop them mid-attack just like that. The guild was utterly silent now considering what just happened. Hearing footsteps getting closer to them, Erza and Mira turned to find Natsu walking toward them with a smug look slapped across his face. "Y-You did this?" stammered a bemused Erza, her sharp eyes not believing what they were seeing. Maintaining his smug expression the fire dragon slayer simply replied "Yup."

—

"How?" was all Erza could manage to say, as she was still too shocked to say anything else. Natsu still looking extremely pleased with himself answered the scarlet warrior. "You like that? It's my **Fire Dragon's Purgatory Seal** , a neat trick I picked up while on my journey" Natsu said confidently. " **Fire Dragon's Purgatory Seal**?" Mira echoed quizzically. "Yeah, you can think of it as a form of stasis prison, as you can probably tell already. It's pretty darn amazing if I do say so myself, though it's not without its drawbacks" the pinkette stated scratching his head sheepishly. All of the guild members, save the Master and Gildarts, collectively jaw dropped at the fire dragon slayers previous explanation. ' _Is this even Natsu?_ ' ' _since when does he speak properly, like he's a student or something?_ ' ' _Natsu's smart?_ ', these and many other thoughts were going through all of the guild members heads as they tried to comprehend the new Natsu that stood before them.

After composing herself a bit, Erza questioned the pinkette further. "D-drawbacks? this prison is incredibly strong, how can there be any drawbacks?" Natsu then began tapping his chin pondering how he would answer her query. "You are right that it is strong, and probably the only people in the guild who could break out of it through sheer power alone would be the Master, Gildarts, and maybe Laxus" Natsu stated matter of factly. Leaning on a pillar not too far from the fire dragon slayer was the aforementioned Laxus, now developing a tick mark at the thought of 'maybe' breaking out of the pinkette's prison spell. Oh…he would have words with him later.

Both Mira and Erza's eyes widened at this revelation, just how strong had Natsu become in the past three years? Natsu then continued his explanation. "The drawback lies within the fact that it only works on people if they are unaware of the spell being cast. You two were so busy kicking each others butts that it was easy to capture you" Natsu said with a grin aimed at the two incarcerated girls, much to their chagrin. "However, if I were to to try this on let's say Ice Cube over there…" Natsu trailed off as he performed an intricate hand motion while looking over in Gray's direction. Before the ice-make wizard could do anything, the same light-orange flames began to spring to life out of thin air, beginning to form a ring around him. For a moment it looked as if the spell would reach completion, but about halfway through it's arc the flames began to flicker erratically only to dissipate moments later. "As you can see, since the Snowflake knows that I'm casting it, the spell ultimately doesn't work" Natsu said with a slightly disappointed look, seeing as he was still unable to understand this conundrum. "Oi Flame Prick! Do I look like some kinda guinea pig to you?" Gray exclaimed giving his rival a glare. Natsu chuckled at his rivals annoyance "Relax exhibitionist, it's not like I was attacking you or anything" the pinkette said with a mischievous smile. "You wanna go Pyromaniac?" Gray said as he began to march his way towards the fire dragon slayer. "Nah, kind of in the middle of something here, but you could do us all a favor and put your clothes back on" Natsu said turning his attention back to the two girls encased in his flames. "Wha…CRAP!" shouted Gray after realizing he was down to his boxers yet again.

The rest of the guild however jaw dropped yet again. Since when does Natsu turn down a fight? And from Gray of all people! Who is this man? "Anyway, I don't know what the two of you were fighting about, but you need to chill out. Had I not stopped you guys the guild would probably have been blown to pieces, and poor Master here probably would have had a heart attack looking at the repair bill" Natsu stated in a caring tone, while Makarov behind him was nodding in agreement. At this point everyone in the guild floored, unable to process what the pinkette just said. This is coming from the king of destruction himself? What is this world coming to? Even Gildarts was having trouble believing what the fire dragon slayer stated. Erza and Mira were both pouting cutely after being reprimanded by their crush, before finally reverting back to their original forms. "There see, now tell each other sorry and I'll let you go" Natsu said grinning madly at them, seeing as how now it was they who were at his mercy. "Sorry" they both said in unison while they looked away from one another. "Like you mean it…" Natsu stated with a parental tone. Both girls gave a huff before turning to each other. Erza spoke first "Forgive me Mira, I let my anger get the better of me and I should have been more mature about it." Mira smiled at her sweetly "I'm sorry too Erza, I shouldn't have provoked you like that" the barmaid said in a caring tone. "Friends?" the scarlet warrior asked with a small smile on her lips. "The best" Mira responded returning the smile.

Just then the flaming rings that kept them prisoner faded away and the two embraced each other briefly, showing that the two had made up. The guild cheered glad that the two had made nice, but also frankly because they feared for their wellbeing otherwise. "See, that wasn't so hard now was it?" Natsu said as he swung his arm around each of the girls necks, flashing his signature grin. The two blushed at his contact, but smiled nonetheless. He let them go and then made his way over to the rest of his team still at a table in the corner of the guild. Wendy watched the pinkette with wonder as he made his way to their table, a slight sparkle in her chocolate-caramel eyes. ' _Even though he's changed a lot, he still has that childlike demeanor that I know and love. Not only that but he's gotten even stronger, possibly more than I can imagine. Will I ever be able to catch up? To stand side by side with him as an equal? Natsu….your amazing, this is why you were my idol when I was younger. I admired you so much, and now I can't help it, this feeling…because Natsu I-I L-Lo-_ ' "Wendy…Hey Wendy…Earthland to Wendy can you hear me?" Wendy's thoughts were cut off by a familiar voice, and she realized that Natsu had leaned in close to her wearing a confused look on his face.

Wendy's face flushed bright crimson as she let out and ear-piercing squeal "Kyaaaaaaa!" unintentionally letting out a small scale **Sky Dragon's Roar** sending the poor unsuspecting fire dragon slayer flying across the guild. Gray erupted into laughter while everybody else just kinda had shocked look on their face. "Wendy 1, Natsu 0" Gray stated in between peals of laughter, however the sky dragon slayer was now freaking out at was she just did running over to the felled pinkette on the opposite side of the guild. "Oh my goodness! Natsu are you ok? I didn't mean to do that you just surprised me" Wendy rambled frantically whilst beginning to apply her heal spell on the fire dragon slayer. "Sheesh Wendy if that was just a small roar I'd hate to see what a full-scale one feels like. You've really gotten strong" Natsu stated coming out of his daze. Wendy blushed at his comment "Y-You really think so?" the bluenette said in a small voice, as she finished healing the damage she caused, which to be honest wasn't much. "Yeah of course, you're awesome Wendy" Natsu said flashing her a toothy grin, causing the poor girl to blush even harder. "T-Thank you Natsu" Wendy said shyly while looking away to hide her flushed cheeks.

Natsu observed her slightly weird behavior, he was going to say something but decided against it. The two dragon slayers got up from the ground and started heading back to where the rest of their team was at. About midway to their destination, Natsu stopped by another table to speak to Warren. "Yo Warren!" Natsu called out to the telepathy wizard. "Hey Natsu what's up?" Warren replied, curious as to what the dragon slayer wanted. "Could you do me a favor?" Natsu asked with a hopeful expression. "What do ya need buddy?" the telepathy wizard inquired, genuinely curious now seeing as Natsu never really asked for much in the past. "Would it be too much trouble to use your telepathy to contact the girls who went into town? I need them to be here along with everyone else so they won't miss the story" Natsu asked mulling over how exactly he should go about telling his story. "Yeah Natsu piece of cake, I'll go ahead and call them now. But what story are you talking about?" Warren confirmed and inquired. "Sweet, and it's my story of course. I figured you'd guys would want to hear where I've been the last three years" Natsu replied with slight solemn look in his eyes. Warren and just about everyone else in the guild nodded in agreement. "Well thanks Warren, when they get back I'll get started" Natsu stated with a grin as he walked back to his team's table. "No problem Natsu" Warren said as he began his telepathy link.

—

When Natsu got back to the table, he took a seat next to Lisanna and Lucy. "Look who finally joined us" Lucy said, a sly smile forming on her lips. "Yeah yeah I know, sorry the meeting took so long but it was important stuff for the Master to know, then I got hungry" Natsu stated sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head. Lucy rolled her eyes but let out a small giggle at his response. Natsu then noticed a little blue exceed at the opposite side of the table down on all fours sulking. "Happy? What's wrong buddy?" Natsu asked concern filling his voice. "I thought I was gonna get to see Erza put the smackdown on you" Happy stated as he continued to mope. A tick mark formed on Natsu's head, clearly irritated with the exceeds remark, but then it faded away. Natsu's face became somber, ' _I never did really apologize to him_ ' the pinkette thought to himself. "Happy…" Natsu called out to his furry friend, his expression unchanging and voice trailing off.

Happy turned slowly to look at his best friend, a couple of tears escaping the exceeds eyes. Everyone else at the table could only observe the touching moment that was transpiring with soft eyes and warm smiles. The two looked at each other for what seemed like an eternity until…Happy spread his wings and flew at full speed straight into the fire dragon slayers chest effectively knocking him to the ground. This seems to be a trend today. Happy began to sob uncontrollably as he rested on his father figure's chest. Even Natsu began to tear up, which was rare for him. The pinkette wrapped his arms around his little friend and held him tight. "I'm so sorry little buddy, I was an idiot for not taking you with me. I-I just didn't want you to get hurt while I was out doing dangerous things, but I promise you that I won't ever leave without you again!" By this point Happy had calmed down a bit and he looked up at his best friend and foster father. "Y-You swear?" the blue exceed mumbled barely above a whisper, but for a dragon slayer a whisper is all it takes. "I swear" Natsu replied giving his exceed a huge grin.

Everyone in the guild witnessed the exchange, and they all were glad to see Happy truly smile again. The entire time Natsu had been gone, Happy couldn't live up to his namesake, he couldn't be happy. "I promise I'll make it up to you somehow buddy" Natsu said releasing the blue exceed and sitting back down at the table. Happy flew up to the table and landed in front of the pinkette. "What are you talking about Natsu? You left me all those fish remember?" Happy said drooling a bit a the memory. The fire dragon slayer thought back to the day when he left, he had opened a tab for his little friend. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that" Natsu mused. "Well we could never forget, that crazy cat used up all of the money you left him on the tab within a week!" Lucy said shaking her head at the memory. Natsu's eyes bugged out of his head hearing the last statement. "What the heck? Happy how did you go through 15 million Jewel in a week!?" Natsu exclaimed with a bewildered look on his face, the blue feline just started to laugh nervously.

Now everyone else at the table did a spit take at the pinkette's last comment. "15 million? That number can't be right!" Gray stated baffled by the large amount of currency. "Think of all the strawberry cakes you could get with that" Erza said Stars in her eyes at the mere thought. Everyone sweat-dropped at Ezra's comment, but let her fantasize all the same. "I had thought you'd left him a decent amount but 15 million? I could pay my rent for 17 years with that!" Lucy stated in awe. "Wow Natsu, I didn't know you were so rich" Wendy said her eyes wide. "Well I wouldn't say I'm rich, but not having to pay rent is very useful so I almost never have to spend money" Natsu stated nonchalantly. Natsu looked at his partner with a puzzled look, still trying to figure out how he managed to eat that much fish in so little time. Happy just looked back his dragon slayer and smiled slyly "What can I say, I like fish" Happy stated as if it were a known law of the universe. Natsu and the others could only laugh at the feline's response, even Carla let out a small giggle. "Tell you what buddy, once I'm done telling my story how about you and I go out on some jobs, just you and me. Sound good?" Natsu asked his little companion with a grin. "Aye sir!" Happy agreed cheerily while jumping in the air excited at the thought of going on adventures with his best friend.

A couple of hours passed and it was now late afternoon, the sun was at it's peak and would soon start to set come evening. The doors to the guildhall shot open revealing four figures, who turned out to be Levy, Laki, Evergreen and …Elfman? "Please tell me we didn't miss the story!" said an out of breath Levy, carrying a couple of books she must have bought when she was out. "Gihi…Course not. We wouldn't start the party without ya shrimp" Gajeel stated leaning on a wall by the guilds entrance. A sigh of relief left Levy's mouth, but then it was then replaced by irritation at the pet name Gajeel had given her. "Gajeeeel!" Levy whined as she pummeled his chest with her tiny fists, the iron dragon slayer looking smug as ever. The other three went to go find seats for the story that was to be told soon.

After everyone settled down, the guilds blinds were shut, and the lacrima lights were dimmed, to give the story to come a more theatrical effect. Many members sat at tables with their refreshments in hand, but most where gathered around the stage where Natsu was sitting preparing for the telling. However, out of all of the members in the guild, no one was more excited, more afraid, or more prepared to hear this tale than those who made up Team Natsu. Erza, Lucy, Wendy, Gray, Happy, Carla, and now Juvia would all be able to finally share in their friends joys and his pains. Natsu sat at the edge of the stage so that he could be closer to everyone. The pinkette looked in to everyones eyes, seeing a multitude of emotions, fear, excitement, relief and so many more. Natsu's eyes grew a little somber as he sighed finally ready to begin. He sat there for a moment with a thoughtful expression, pondering where he should start his story. Right then a wide smile crossed his lips, ' _yeah that would be a good place to start_ ' he thought to himself.

Natsu looked towards his crowd who were anxiously waiting, until finally he spoke. "How about we start with this" said Natsu, who then outstretched his arm holding it out in front of him. All of a sudden a flame burst into existence covering the entirety of the pinkette's hand. The flame was graceful as it danced and licked at the air around it, almost mesmerizing and yet at the same time it was fierce and wild. The flame shimmered as if it were a crystal of the finest grade, and the color was that of light teal which was the grace and calm, surrounded by streaks of black that were the fierce and wild. Two natures seemingly intertwined into a powerful duality. The quiet in the guild hall was deafening, everyone in utter awe at what they were witnessing. Wendy was the one to break the silence, and even though it was but a whisper, everyone heard it. "It's…beautiful."

* * *

 **You guys are probably going to hate me for ending chapters this way aren't you? At any rate, if you took the time to give this chapter a look I really do appreciate it! Also don't forget to leave reviews as they help me out a lot.**

 **Sorry in advance as well for the lack of action at the moment, just trying to set stuff up slowly and gradually. However fear not as the next chapter will be chopfull of major reveals and also a look into how powerful Natsu has actually become. Well then, till next time Peace out!**


	3. Gods & Dragons

**Hey guys! welcome to chapter 3**

 **This chapter is WAY longer than I intended it to be, so I hope you guys won't mind too much. Hopefully it turned out alright, if not then you guys will let me know I'm sure.**

 **Also, reminder for those of you who haven't voted for the harem girls, go do it!**

 **As much as possible, I'll try to get chapters out to you guys every 4-5 days. But it really all depends on the inspiration I'm feeling and real life stuff, so please bear with me.**

 **I really hope you guys like this really long chapter :p**

 **p.s maybe it's just me who thinks it's long...**

* * *

 **GODS & DRAGONS**

Light and dark shadows danced throughout the guildhall as the shimmering flame in Natsu's hand continued to flicker. Everyone in the guild was at a loss for words as none of them have seen something quite like this before. The flame had caused the guild members to go into an almost hypnotic-like state, for the flame was quite beautiful indeed. Erza finally coming out of her daze asked the pinkette what this mysterious flame was.

"Natsu…what is this?" she inquired, eyes still locked onto the flame.

The fire dragon slayer was just about to answer his friend's question, but stopped when a familiar voice interjected.

"That's Hallowed Magic" said a childlike girls voice.

Natsu and everyone else in the guild directed their attention to were the voice came from, and then they all froze. Everyone had eyes the size of dinner plates, because standing right next to Natsu was none other than Fairy Tail's first Master…Mavis Vermillon.

—-

"FIRST MASTER?" the entire guild roared, incredulity blatantly visible on all of their faces.

"Why hello everyone!" Mavis responded with a cute giggle.

"First Master…but how is this possible? We thought you had disappeared!" Makarov stated, with tears of joy beginning to well up.

All eyes were on the petite blonde as they awaited her explanation.

"During the war with Alvarez our situation was getting grimmer by the moment, so in a last ditch effort to save the guild I used one of the grand fairy spells, **Fairy Repulse** " Mavis stated, her eyes growing a little somber at the memory.

"You mean the spell you cast on Gray and I when we stole the book of E.N.D from Mard Geer, the one that helped us escape from Zeref?" Natsu asked curiously, remembering the narrow escape.

"Precisely" Mavis said giving the pinkette a smile.

"But why would that make you disappear all of a sudden?" Gray asked with confusion prevalent on his face.

"It's because the circumstances were different. You see, when I used it on you and Natsu, it was only you two and therefore I didn't really have to expend much magic power. However, during the war I used it on everyone in the guild and that took an incredible amount of magic power in comparison. As you all know, **Fairy Repulse** is an absolute defense spell similar to **Fairy Sphere** , the difference being that the defensive aura is individualized to anyone bearing our guilds emblem, while also repelling evil" Mavis explained, then she looked down to her feet before continuing.

"Not only did I activate that spell, but I funneled every ounce of magic power that I could muster into to all of you" Mavis stated, her voice a little shaky.

The entirety of the guild began to tear up at the First Master's last statement. In their darkest hour she gave everything, even if it meant disappearing forever. Mavis looked up back at everyone, tears of her own welling up.

"Even if it meant me going away forever, I couldn't lose any of you. You are all too precious, and the guild you all have made, is exactly the the guild that I had set out to make. There's no way that I was going to let it fade away into nothingness."

By this point everyone was balling at Mavis' heart warming words, they truly did have the greatest First Master.

"I didn't know what would happen after that, but it would seem that I was in a state of rest for the past five years, and thus here I am now" Mavis finished her explanation with a sweet smile.

The warm smile Mavis gave calmed the guild, and they could only smile back at her. It was Natsu who spoke first.

"Thank you…First Master" he said as he embraced the petite blonde, who was surprised by the action, but welcomed it all the same.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, but aside from that didn't I interrupt your story?" Mavis questioned as she pulled away.

"Well if I remember correctly you were actually helping me explain something, but we got sidetracked with you being alive and all" Natsu said with a grin.

"Now where did I leave off…" the pinkette said pondering what the last topic he went over was.

"I believe Master Mavis said something about Hallowed Magic" Levy said, curiosity burning in her eyes.

The fire dragon slayer looked at the petite blue haired girl and cracked a small smile.

"Oh right, we were discussing this" Natsu said as he reignited his hand with the same black and teal flame that they were observing before.

Natsu looked over to Mavis who had taken a seat next to him, and shot her a curious look.

"Would you like to do the honors?" he asked the petite blonde while flashing his toothy grin.

Mavis smiled back, "I'd love to!" she said with loads of enthusiasm. "Hallowed Magic is one of the purest and most powerful forms of magic, and it is also know as True God Slayer Magic" Mavis stated sporting an enlightened look.

Gasps could be heard all throughout the guild hall at this new revelation. Levy could be seen furiously taking some notes, the thought of new information simply dominating her mind. Gajeel couldn't help but crack a smile at the sight, ' _the shrimp sure does love learning new things_ ' he thought to himself.

"Wait, so you mean to tell me that Flame-Brain over there is a God Slayer now?" Gray asked in a disbelief, not wanting to think that his rival had gotten stronger than him.

"Just like Chelia?" Wendy chimed in, curiosity and surprise spread across her face.

It was Natsu who answered "Yeah that's right Snowflake" he said giving the ice-make wizard a smirk, causing said wizard to develop a tick mark.

"And no Wendy, Chelia and I are not the same. You see, Chelia learned her Sky God Slayer magic from an ancient text left behind long ago and while it is powerful, it is incomplete and it's not the same thing that I have" Natsu stated, pausing for a moment to observe the shimmering flame in his hand before continuing.

"The reason mine and Chelia's magic are so different is because unlike Chelia, I was taught by an actual god" Natsu finished with a small smile, remembering the days he spent learning this magic.

The disbelief at the fire dragon slayers last comment was so prevalent that it was almost tangible.

"WHAAAAAAAT!?" the guild members exclaimed in unison.

"Well I suppose goddess would be the correct word, seeing as she was a woman" the pinkette stated nonchalantly, completely disregarding the shock on everyones faces.

At the mention of goddess, a few ladies in the guild started to develop a suspicious look on their faces, namely Erza, Wendy, and Mira.

"I figured that had to be the case, but how ever did you get an audience with one? The odds are about ten billion to one, from what I've read in the past" Mavis asked with an unmistakeable spirit of inquiry.

"To be honest I really don't know First Master. All I can really say is that she was the one who found me" Natsu replied with a slight somber look in his eye.

The look was not missed by Mavis, and she grew a little concerned for the pinkette. She was about to ask him if he was alright but was thrown off by someone else's question.

"And what was this goddess' name?" Erza inquired with a slight glare aimed at the pinkette, causing Wendy and Mira to lean in a little closer to learn the name of their potential rival.

Natsu tilted his head in confusion over Erza's sudden spike in intensity, but answered her nonetheless.

"Her name is Aodh though I just call her Ao, and she is one of the goddesses of fire, but we are getting ahead of ourselves here. Let's start at the beginning and we will get to this eventually" Natsu said giving Erza a grin.

The scarlet haired warrior pouted internally since the pinkette wouldn't disclose anymore details on the goddess just yet.

"If you were just gonna start at the beginning anyway Pyro, then why'd you show us the God Slayer stuff first?" Gray asked slightly annoyed at his rival.

"Oh I just wanted to see the look on all of your faces, and believe me they were priceless" Natsu said as he stifled a laugh.

Everyone deadpanned at the pinkette's antics "HE IS SUCH A CHILD!" they all shouted in unison. Mavis however, could only laugh at the fire dragon slayers silliness, as she too shared a similar nature. With that, Natsu then started his story from the very beginning, from his departure to his unexpected arrival.

—

Natsu began his story by describing the many towns and cities he visited while out on his adventure. He told them of the technologically advanced city of Azalea, where he witnessed incredible things concerning lacrima inventions, magic vehicles and transportation (much to his dismay), a place that also sold many of Warren's inventions. Natsu then spoke of his time in the small town of Heath, a quiet little place in the hill country of Fiore that was pretty famous for it's baked goods, where the pinkette ate himself sick. Finally he told of his visit to Dahlia, a city full of merchant and treasure hunter guilds, as well as buildings that were so tall they touched the sky. The pinkette conveyed the rustic feel of the city and how the people he met there were warm, and at times pretty shady. Natsu was just about to continue on and tell of his reunion with Gildarts, but then he remembered something.

"Ah! I completely forgot, I brought some souvenirs for you guys!" Natsu said with an enormous grin.

Everyone looked at him as if he had a screw loose, because all they saw was the fire dragon slayer with no bags of any sort. It's not like he's going to pull them out of thin air. The pinkette's hand began to glow and then suddenly what appeared to be a bottle of wine materialized into his hand.

"EEEEEEEHHH!?" the guild shouted in unison.

Apparently today was going to be one surprise after the next with no end in sight.

"Since when can you requip!?" Erza exclaimed, eyes bugging out of her head, which for the most part was everyone's reaction to this.

"A guy I met in Dahlia taught me the basics, and I just practiced on my own after that. It's actually not too bad once you get the hang of it" Natsu replied, a smile on his face at the memory. ' _He sure was a cool guy, wonder when he'll come by_ ' he thought to himself.

While Natsu was taking a trip down memory lane, Erza gazed at the pinkette with soft chocolate eyes, ' _how far have you come Natsu? You seem to surpass all reason as you continue to grow_ ' she thought to herself, a blush then gracing the scarlet warriors cheeks.

Natsu then shook off the nostalgia and turned his attention to Cana,"Yo Cana! This one's for you" Natsu shouted, as she was further back in the crowd. He tossed the bottle to her, and she nearly passed out when she saw what it was.

"A 200 year old bottle of Mélange Balsamique! Holy Crap where did you get this!?" Cana said with eyes full of amazement, a slightly drooling Gildarts peeking over his daughter's shoulder.

"There was this old man in Dahlia I saved from a couple thugs trying to mug him. Turns out he was a collector of fine wines and liquors. I don't know much about alcohol, but he said that there are only four of those left in the world. He even popped one open and shared it with me, and I gotta say it was pretty freakin' awesome" Natsu said licking his lips remembering the taste.

"Thanks Natsu! I'll think of some way to repay you" Cana replied, the last part she said in a sultry tone causing certain girls to become a little irritated with the heavy drinker, and Gildarts to pale.

"No prob Cana, enjoy! Now lets see who's next" Natsu said as his hands began to glow again, this time two silver keys and a scroll materialized, one in either hand.

Lucy immediately recognized the silver keys in the pinkette's hand as celestial spirit keys.

"Natsu are those…" Lucy began but trailed off as she saw Natsu nodding at her.

"Yup, I found these in a city called Akrai on the Western continent. According to the vendor they are Caelum and Polaris, two that I'm pretty sure you don't have yet" Natsu stated as he tossed her the keys.

"Natsu! Thank you so much I-" Lucy began, but was cut off by the pinkette.

"Wait, thats not all, there is also this" Natsu said as he held out the scroll that was in his other hand.

"What's this?" Lucy asked with a puzzled look, wondering what the scroll had to do with her.

"While I was out asking the locals about some business I had, I came across a lady who told me she didn't know what I was looking for, but she said she had some information about a gold key sighting" Natsu said handing her the scroll.

Lucy's eyes began to tear up and she began to shake as she took the scroll.

"I know you've been searching for her, and believe me I know how frustrating it can be to search for someone for years upon end, but even if what's on that scroll is just a rumor…I think it's an opportunity that you shouldn't pass up" Natsu stated in a soft voice, as he looked at the celestial wizard with caring eyes.

' _Aquarius…_ ' Lucy thought to herself, and then she looked up at the pinkette with tears streaming down her face.

"Natsu…I can't thank you enough" Lucy said giving the fire dragon slayer warm smile.

Natsu gave her his signature toothy grin "Think nothing of it Lucy, we're friends right? And whether you decide to take on this challenge on your own or you do it with us, it doesn't matter because we will always be behind you" Natsu said still grinning at the celestial wizard.

Lucy only nodded tears still falling, but a smile on her face. Natsu then directed his attention to Erza, who looked back at him quizzically beginning to blush a bit because he was staring.

"What?" she inquired.

"Oh I think you are gonna love this" Natsu said as he requiped again, and what materialized was a set of armor complete with two tanto blades and a small package.

Erza's eyes widened as she recognized the armor, it was all one grey and silver piece, slim-line with intricate angular patterns going down each of the arms and a similar pattern on the chest. The lower half was composed of four pieces of cloth that hung over the legs with similar angular patters, two in the front and two in the back. The patterns themselves were almost dragon-like, yes she knew what this armor was and there is only one of them in the world.

"The MoonLight armor…but Natsu how did you get it? There is only one in existence and it supposedly belongs to a go-" Erza trailed off when she saw Natsu smirk and raise a brow.

"You can't be serious" Erza said still in disbelief.

"Oh but I am, when I was with Ao I told her about you and how amazing you are with your different armors, and to my surprise she told me to give this to you. She said only someone with a heart like yours could wear it" Natsu said smiling ever so slightly.

Erza blushed deeply at the compliment while she requiped the MoonLight armor into her inventory.

"T-Thank you Natsu" the scarlet warrior muttered still flustered from the pinkette's words.

"There is one more thing" Natsu said as he tossed her the small package that remained.

Erza shot him a quick look of confusion before opening the package, and when she did she almost screamed. Inside the box was a small cake with golden strawberries on top, forming a floral pattern.

"I picked that up from Heath, the town I mentioned earlier that was famous for it's baked goods. I also had it encased in a special type of lacrima that preserves it's freshness, the lacrima will only open at your touch and when you do, it will be as fresh as the day it came out of the oven" Natsu stated while giving Erza his toothy grin.

' _I could kiss him_ ' Erza thought to herself, but quickly shook off the thought. It took all the scarlet warrior had not to run up to the pinkette and just have her way with him. Flustered and not knowing what to say at the moment, Erza simply nodded and gave the fire dragon slayer a sweet smile. Natsu noticed her strange behavior, but didn't think much of it and smiled back as he turned to the next person, or more precisely people.

"Wendy, Gajeel" Natsu called out to them, his eyes growing a bit solemn. Both dragon slayers noticed the change in his eyes and grew a bit concerned.

"Oi Salamander, you alright?" Gajeel asked hoping nothing too serious was wrong.

The pinkette remained silent for a moment longer, making Wendy more concerned.

"Natsu what is it?" she inquired, her face expressing the worry she felt.

"During my stay with Ao, I got a rare opportunity to speak to Igneel. I don't know how she did it, but it really did happen" Natsu said his solemn expression growing deeper.

Wendy and Gajeel were at a loss for words, how could something like this be possible? They continued to stare at the pinkette who had paused for a moment, and were about to say something, but then the fire dragon slayer continued.

"But it wasn't just Igneel I talked to. I also spoke with Grandine and Metallicana, and they told me to pass these along to you" Natsu said as he requiped four items from his personal dimension.

They were two letters and two booklets. Wendy was in tears now, and Gajeel couldn't believe what he was hearing. Natsu hopped off the stage and made his way to the two dragon slayers, stopping right in front of them holding out the letters and booklets, which they took. Before going back to the stage, he embraced Wendy who was sobbing quietly before going over to Gajeel and putting a hand on his shoulder giving him a reassuring nod. Nobody in the guild spoke, because when it came to the dragon slayers, this was a most sensitive subject. The dragons that had raised them as their own, even though they are gone, were still watching over them even now. When Natsu sat back down next to Mavis on the stage, the former giving him a supportive smile, he broke the silence.

"What you have in your hands are a letter and a manual. The letter contains the words they wished to convey to you but did not have the time to. The manuals contain dragon slayer techniques that they could not teach you at the time. For you Wendy, the manual contains a dragon slayer secret art that you have yet to learn as well as more enhanced versions of your enchantments and healing spells. Gajeel, your manual details how to make your base iron even stronger, not only that but it outlines how to achieve a form that is even stronger than either iron or steel…adamantine" Natsu finished giving both of the dragon slayers a weak smile.

He knew this was hard for them to hear, considering that they didn't get to talk to their dragons themselves. Even though this was reopening old wounds, the two dragon slayers looked at their fellow pinkette slayer with absolute determination in their eyes, before finally speaking.

"Thank you" they said in unison, both of them giving the fire dragon slayer a small smile.

Natsu's smile grew bigger knowing that even though their dragon parents were gone, they would always have each other, and that's all that mattered. Natsu then turned to his greatest rival and friend Gray.

"Don't think I forgot about you Ice Princess" Natsu said grinning mischievously, earning an irritated look from said ice make wizard.

"Oh yeah, and what'd you get me Fire Breath?" Gray asked, a half smile now on his face.

Natsu requiped what appeared to be a small pouch, shortly afterwards tossing it to Gray.

"What is it?" Gray inquired, a perplexed look on his face.

"Why don't you crack it open and see for yourself" Natsu said giving the ice make wizard a smirk.

Gray did as he asked and tugged at the strings to open the small pouch. Inside he saw many small dark blue crystals that also had a small green hue at the base of each one. They also seemed to be emanating some sort of potent energy, so Gray picked one out to examine it closer.

"Ice?" he asked, more so to himself.

"Yeah, while I was on the Western Continent there was cavern on the outskirts of a city called Chalcis, where I found a strange ice formation. It doesn't melt but can be broken down into dust, also I took some pieces of it into town where they told me that this ice held properties similar to the ice we have here on Mt. Hakobe, except it's three times stronger" Natsu explained observing the ice make wizard to see how he would react to this.

Gray's eyes widened at the information, "So what you're saying is that these ice crystals are actually some sort of energy supplement?" Gray asked, wanting to know more about the strange ice.

"Pretty much, though those things are really strong, so you should only ever use them if you are completely drained physically and magically, or who knows what might happen" Natsu recommended, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Gray looked back at the ice crystals cautiously, ' _I'd better be really careful with these_ ' Gray thought to himself. Seeing his friends concern, Natsu decided to lighten the mood a bit.

"Besides…" the pinkette began, causing Gray to look back at him.

"Since that ice is pretty strong I'm sure it has to be delicious! You know, you being a fellow slayer and all" Natsu said grinning widely.

Gray cracked a grin himself at the remark, "yeah I guess you're right, good looking out Flame-Brain" Gray said giving the pinkette an approving nod.

Natsu nodded back, before looking over at the lacrima clock across the room. ' _Whoa it's getting pretty late, I should go ahead and finish up the story before everyone gets tired_ ' Natsu thought to himself.

"Ok guys, I still have some stuff to give out, but it'll have to wait till after I finish the story" Natsu announced, causing some people to pout a bit, particularly a white haired barmaid. The story then moved on, where the pinkette would recount his time with Gildarts, his encounter with Acnologia, and his stay with the goddess Aodh.

—-

The atmosphere in the guild had become tense and serious, when Natsu got around to retelling his encounter with the black dragon Acnologia. They all had nothing but bad memories concerning the dragon. Everyone was shocked to hear that no destruction had been caused by the black dragon for the past five years, but they all floored when they heard that it was actually a woman.

"So that giant dragon was a woman this whole time eh? Wonder if she is cute…" Macao said, his hand rubbing his chin as he tried to imagine the black dragon as woman.

This comment earned the fire wizard a slap to the back of the head, a glaring Mira the one to dish it out.

"Ow! Mira what was that for?" Macao asked, as he rubbed his head gingerly.

"And what does being cute have to do with anything? That horrible dragon tried to kill us twice! And a large number of us lost seven years of our lives that we won't ever get back" Mira stated in a harsher tone than she had intended.

Macao, and many others flinched at Mira's words, because they all knew that what she said was the case.

"Yeah, just because Acnologia hasn't destroyed anything in a while doesn't mean we can all of a sudden trust it. Not after what it's done to us" Cana chimed in, wearing an angry face similar to Mira's.

Natsu watched as his guild mates all began to discuss Acnologia's recent behavior, and what he saw was the utmost resentment for the dragon slayer of the end. He couldn't blame them, heck even he didn't trust Acnologia, but there was something that was off about all of this. Until he knew what that was, he would just have to play it cautiously.

"Everybody chill out!" Natsu shouted so as to get everyone's attention.

The guild quieted down and directed their attention to the pinkette once again. Natsu began to remove his scarf and cloak, causing everyone to wonder what on Earthland was he doing.

"Look who's stripping now" Gray remarked, with a deadpan expression.

"Shut up exhibitionist, unlike you I'm doing this because I need to show you all something before we move on" Natsu said, a tick mark forming from the ice make wizards last comment.

The pinkette then removed his vest leaving his upper body bare, the the large mark on his left side now in plain sight. Most of the guild didn't really know what to make of it, but then everyone heard a gasp that seemed to have come from Wendy. This caught Natsu's attention, and as he looked at her, he immediately grew concerned, because he saw a look of horror on her face.

"Wendy, What is it? Have you seen this mark before?" Natsu asked, a little frantically because he was concerned for Wendy.

The sky dragon slayer was shaking her head ever so slightly, her hands covering mouth and her face twisted in horror and confusion. ' _That's a mating mark, Grandine had told me about them when I was younger. She said that dragons would mark each other to establish each other as mates, and when they did it was for life. But that would mean that Acnologia and Natsu are…NO! it can't be, I won't accept it! Natsu and I were supposed to…he was supposed to…_ ' Wendy thought to herself, unable to accept the idea that Natsu and Acnologia might be mates. Just as tears were beginning to well up in the bluenette's eyes, she felt a hand on her head. Looking up she saw that it was Gajeel, who was giving her a reassuring look. Almost as if he was reading her mind he said this to her.

"Relax kid, it seems like he doesn't know what this is, so the odds of him actually reciprocating it is very unlikely" he said with a comforting grin.

Wendy seemed to calm down after hearing this, internally thanking Mavis that Natsu was pretty dense when it came to matters such as these, at least she hoped that it worked in her favor. Natsu picked up on Gajeel's and Wendy's conversation with his sensitive ears, and started to get a bit annoyed because he had been anxious about the bluenette's reaction to the mark on his chest.

"Gajeel, do you know what this is?" Natsu asked impatiently, really wanting know now.

"Yeah Salamander I know what it is, but it's better we discuss it in private" Gajeel said with a smirk.

Natsu gave him a confused look, clearly not understating what the iron dragon slayer was implying.

"It's a dragon slayer thing" Wendy said now looking much better, giving the pinkette a small smile.

Natsu seemed to be convinced by the two, and decided he'd talk to them later about it. The fire dragon slayer started to put on the articles of clothing that he removed, so he could continue with the story.

"You totally could've just left those off, I mean I wouldn't mind" Cana said giving the pinkette a seductive look.

At this point Mira, who was standing next to the heavy drinker, was ready to strangle the poor girl. With his clothes back on, Natsu let out a nervous laugh at Cana's comment before continuing with his tale.

"Anyway, there is only one thing left to tell all of you, and that is how I got to know the goddess of fire Aodh" Natsu said, his eyes looking up as if he were looking up at the sky.

"It all started a year and a half ago when I had finally arrived at the location for the S-Class mission I took on. The job was located far away on the Western Continent of Alakitasia, in the dense forests of Dyme. All I had to do was take out a couple of salamanders, but it turns out that the job request was mistaken on how many salamanders there actually were" Natsu stated in a serious tone, looking down at his feet as he remembered the fiasco.

[ **Flash-Back / Year X795 / Continent of Alakitasia / Dyme Forest** ]

" **FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!"** Natsu yelled as he drove his flaming fist into the salamanders cheek causing it to cry out in pain, effectively knocking the reptile off balance into the nearby trees. The salamander then shook it's massive head and refocused it's attention on Natsu who was a several feet away. "You're a tough sucker aren't ya? No wonder they gave me that nickname" Natsu thought out loud, a smirk on his face.

"I'm all fired up now!" the pinkette shouted as he started to charge the beast, that was now letting out a blood curdling roar getting ready to swipe at the fire dragon slayer. " **FIRE DRAGON'S SWORD HORN!"** Natsu bellowed as he engulfed his entire body in flames and head butted the salamander straight in the gut. The salamander let off and agonizing screech before falling over on it's back, making the ground shake due to it's size. "And now for the finale" Natsu said as he jumped into the air, only to look back down at the salamander to deliver the finishing blow.

" **FIRE DRAGON'S BRILLIANT FLAME!** " Natsu yelled as his two flaming fists came together to create a massive fireball, that he launched strait into the salamander causing an enormous explosion. When the smoke cleared the pinkette looked at the felled salamander with utter satisfaction at his handiwork.

"Just how I like em', extra crispy" Natsu said with a grin.

The fire dragon slayer walked over to a tree and took a seat leaning against it so he could rest from his previous battle. That was the second salamander that Natsu had defeated today, and it had been a while since he'd fought these mighty beasts. He'd fought one a long time ago, though Gray had been there the last time. He also would never forget what these things looked like, they were giant, they had a mouth that sort of resembles that of an alligators but shorter. They also walked around on two feet, complete with large vermillion scales, a tail, not to mention they also breathe fire. Thinking his job had been accomplished the pinkette stood up and started to make his way back home, that is until he heard something large running towards him.

"Oh crap!" he muttered as he rolled out of the monsters path, and looking up only to see that it was a salamander.

"You've gotta be kidding me, another one?" Natsu said in an exasperated tone.

The salamander tried to smash the pinkette with it's claw, but Natsu expected this and dodged the crushing blow. What the fire dragon slayer didn't expect, was the jet stream of fire that hit him directly from his left side. ' _There's another one eh?_ ' Natsu thought to himself before consuming the flames the new arrival attacked him with.

"Yeah…now I've got a fire in my belly!" Natsu said quietly as he looked back up at the two lumbering beasts in front of him.

"That was some pretty tasty fire, to bad yo-" Natsu began his taunting, but was suddenly interrupted by a powerful kick in the back that sent him flying into a tree several yards away. The impact had been so forceful that it left an impression of the pinkette, who was now kneeling on the ground coughing up a little blood.

"Aaah, definitely going to feel that for the next couple of days" Natsu said to himself, before looking back at the clearing where there were now three salamanders.

"Where the heck are they all coming from? The job request said that there were only two of them" Natsu said frustration prevalent in his voice.

The salamanders started to close in on the fire dragon slayer.

"Well like it or not they are here and base mode isn't gonna cut it anymore" Natsu said while keeping his eyes on the salamanders.

" **LIGHTNING-FLAME DRAGON MODE!** " Natsu bellowed, causing flames and arcs of electricity to flow all around his being. "COME AT ME YA OVERGROWN LIZARDS!" Natsu screamed, causing the already approaching salamanders to start barreling towards the pinkette.

"That's right, come and get it" Natsu said as he grinned madly. Just as they were right up on him, the pinkette struck. " **DRAGON SLAYER SECRET ART: CRIMSON LOTUS EXPLODING LIGHTNING BLADE!** " Natsu yelled, as he waved his arms in a circular-like fashion, causing a massive spiral of flame and lightning with continual small explosions to jettison out towards the trio of salamanders. Upon impact with the spell, two of the salamanders were downed instantly, but the third managed to survive the attack thanks to the other two acting as a shield of sorts.

As it began to get up, Natsu rushed it so he could get in a decisive blow. However, this salamander would not go easy and it whipped around and nailed the unsuspecting fire dragon slayer with it's tail sending the pinkette flying. Natsu groaned in pain from the powerful blow and was getting back up to retaliate, but before he could even get up, the salamander struck him again sending him flying to the other side of the clearing. This time Natsu pushed through the pain and began to stand up to face the salamander.

"uraaaaaaaaaaaaa!" he cried out as he stood up, ignoring the pain that stabbed at him. "I'm not gonna let some cocky lizard get the best of me" Natsu stated while glaring at the beast. "BECAUSE I'M THE REAL SALAMANDER!" Natsu screamed, getting ready to roar. " **LIGHTNING-FLAME DRAGON'S ROAR!** " he bellowed, a colossal stream of fire and lightning erupting from the pinkette's mouth, completely engulfing the salamander and effectively ending the battle. When the roar finally disapated, Natsu saw that his attack was effective and a smile spread across his face.

Unable to stand any longer he collapsed from exhaustion and pain. Bruised and battered, Natsu lay there on his back trying to catch his breath. He let out a small chuckle, "You bastards put up a good fight, but it looks like this win is mine" Natsu said out loud, a large grin on his face.

The pinkette closed his eyes to rest, but they shot back open when he heard what sounded like a savage beasts breathing. Natsu looked up only to see another salamander, and in that moment he knew it was over. He couldn't move, he was magically drained from his previous battles, and there was no time to dodge the incoming attack.

"Everyone…I'm sorry" Natsu whispered, as he stared at the claw that was soon to crush him to death.

The salamanders claw was just about to tear into Natsu's body when from out of nowhere the salamander was hit by a large fireball. Natsu watched as the salamander fell to the ground beside him, engulfed in shimmering flames of black and teal. Natsu looked in wonder at the sight, he had never seen such flames. All of the damage the pinkette suffered and the exhaustion he felt finally began to catch up with him, and he started to lose consciousness.

Natsu saw a person walking up to him, "W-Who are you?" Natsu asked, trying to speak loudly but it came out barely above a whisper. The person in front of him was about to answer his query, but the pinkette finally succumbed and faded into unconsciousness. The last thing thing he heard was a soft voice calling his name.

"Natsu!…Natsu stay with me!"

[ **3 Days Later** ]

The sun was high in the sky, and birds could be heard chirping while they flew through the air. A faint breeze brought with it a comforting cool sensation that was just perfect. The aroma of food filling the air, caused a certain pinkette to stir in his sleep eventually opening his eyes. Natsu jolted upwards, and began looking around him only to not recognize anything that he saw. It would appear that he was in a house, and a simple one at that, the room he was in only containing the small bed he was in and a dresser directly across from the bed. The fire dragon slayer got out of the bed to look out of a small window that was also in the room across from the doorway. Natsu almost freaked out when he looked outside, because to him it looked like he was in the celestial spirit world. Little islands and spheres floated around for what seemed like miles, but Natsu could tell that this place was different. ' _Where am I?_ ' the pinkette thought to himself, as he continued to gaze out of the window. While Natsu pondered his location, a voice behind him broke his train of thought.

"Hey you, how are you feeling?" said a woman's voice.

Natsu hadn't turned around yet but the voice shocked him, it was like honey, sweet and smooth. This voice…it disarmed him, comforted him, and made him feel safe all at the same time. Natsu slowly turned around to face who ever it was that this voice belonged to, and when he saw her his jaw dropped in utter awe at what he was seeing. She was easily the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and frankly he doesn't even think that there is anyone who could match her beauty. She had chin length silver hair with her bangs slightly longer than the rest all brushed to one side.

Her eyes were a bright teal that almost seemed to sparkle, and her skin was smooth and fair. She wore a pleated tunic top that had floral patterns emblazoned on it, the colors of which were light blue with black outlines. She also sported slim white pants that tucked into a pair of calf-high grey boots that fastened with buckles. In terms of height, she about the same as Erza who came to about Natsu's nose, and she was pretty well endowed to say the least. The woman let out a little giggle, because the pinkette was gawking at her. What a heavenly sound that giggle was.

"Natsu, are you alright?" said the mesmerizing voice, though this time Natsu finally snapped out of it, hearing this stranger say his name made him curious.

"How do you know my name?" Natsu inquired, now becoming a bit more serious seeing as he still had no clue as to where he was.

The woman tilted her head a bit, as if she were pondering how to answer the fire dragon slayers question.

"Well…" she began, giving the pinkette a dazzling smile before continuing. "When you're a goddess you tend to be privy to a lot of things" she stated as if it were common knowledge.

It took a moment for what the woman just said to sink in for Natsu, then it hit him.

"DID YOU SAY GODDESS!?" Natsu exclaimed, eyes practically out of his head from the sheer shock.

The woman laughed her beautiful laugh, and she nodded to the pinkette's question.

"My name is Aodh, I am the goddess of flame and healing. I'm so pleased to finally meet you, Natsu Dragneel" Aodh said while smiling sweetly at the dragon slayer.

Natsu still wasn't sure if he believed her or not, but for now he'd have to go with it.

"Nice to meet you too Aodh" Natsu said, uncertainty still present in his voice.

Aodh sensed his feelings of confusion and uncertainty, so she took his hands in hers to comfort him.

"Don't worry, I promise I'll explain everything to you in time" she said as she looked him in his onyx eyes.

Natsu didn't know why, but he suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of safety and warmth wash over him. Aodh let go of his hands and walked over to the doorway before turning around to face the pinkette again.

"By the way, you can just call me Ao" she said flashing the dragon slayer a beautiful smile before heading out of the room.

Natsu stood there dumbfounded, "Ao…" he said before trailing off. Almost as if unconsciously, he followed her out of the room.

[ **5 Months Later** ]

It was the middle of the night and Natsu was reading a book that Ao had lent him. The book itself was about the various gods and goddesses that existed and also detailed the heavenly divine world that he was currently in. Apparently it was a world like the celestial spirit world but on higher plane of existence, or rather the highest plane. The gods and goddesses for the most part did not mettle with human affairs, very rarely do they interact with humans. This fact alone confused Natsu, if this was such a rare occurrence almost border lining on never, then why did Ao pick him? The dragon slayer resolved himself to ask her one of these days. Months had passed since he met the goddess and in that time, she had helped him to train mentally, by learning new things and increasing his skills in reading and writing.

Natsu sat up in his bed, and a smile crossed his face. He wondered how he made it out of the many perilous situations that he had been in with such limited knowledge. The pinkette then shook his head for he knew how he got out of those situations, it was because of his friends, his precious family at Fairy Tail. The dragon slayer's expression became somber as he thought about his friends, he missed them all greatly.

"Don't worry guys I'll be home soon, or at least that's what I hope" Natsu whispered, as he rested his head against his knees.

A few moments passed and then Natsu felt someone sit next to him on the bed, he didn't need to look up to know who it was, after all she was the only one here. Ao wrapped her arms around the dragon slayer, providing that strange warmth that the pinkette could never figure out.

"Please don't fret Natsu, you'll see them soon" the goddess whispered in her honey-like voice.

"I know I've hurt them Ao, and I have to get back to them as soon as I can, or else they might think the worst" Natsu whispered back, his head remaining where it was.

"I understand Natsu, and I promise that after we finish your training you'll be able to go back to them" Ao whispered with confidence.

Natsu raised his head in confusion and looked at the goddess quizzically.

"Training?" the pinkette asked, maintaining the confused look on his face.

Ao gave the dragon slayer a huge beautiful smile.

"Yes, starting tomorrow I will be teaching you Flame God Slayer Magic" the goddess said excitedly.

Natsu's eyes widened and before he knew it he had the unsuspecting goddess, who was already embracing him, in an embrace of his own.

"Thank you Ao! You're the best!" Natsu said, nothing but happiness in his voice.

The goddess blushed ever so slightly at his complement, but returned his embrace happily.

"Now go to bed, you'll need your energy for tomorrow" Ao said pulling away from the dragon slayer, and headed for the doorway.

"Night Ao" Natsu said as he laid back down on his bed to sleep.

"Good night, Natsu" the goddess replied, before leaving the dragon slayer to his dreams.

[ **1 Year Later / 1 Month Before Natsu's Return To Fairy Tail** ]

"One more try Natsu, I'm sure you'll get it this time" Ao said confidently.

Natsu and Ao were in a large clearing a few miles from the house training.

"Ok, here it goes" Natsu panted, clearly exhausted from his previous attempts at this new move Ao was trying to teach him.

Natsu then brought both of his arms to up to one side, his hands were positioned in a claw-like manner almost as if he were grasping the air with them. " **GOD SLAYER SACRED ART: VULCAN'S FINAL FLAME EDICT!** " Natsu bellowed bring his hands down, causing a massive pillar of black and teal flames to fall from the sky and impact the ground with such force that many of the nearby trees were uprooted and sent flying.

Even when destroying things, these shimmering flames were a beautiful sight to behold. After the pillar dissipated, all that was left was an enormous crater that was very deep. Natsu then looked over to Ao, to see if she approved. Ao smiled widely at the dragon slayer.

"Yes Natsu! That was perfect!" she said while clapping excitedly.

"All right!" Natsu shouted in triumph while pumping a fist into the air.

After getting over his excitement, Natsu walked over to the goddess to see what was next.

"So what's next Ao? Natsu asked, excitement and curiousity clear as day on his face.

Ao simply smiled at the dragon slayer.

"Nothing Natsu, you've mastered the last of the sacred arts and now your god slayer training is finally complete" the goddess stated with a subtle twinge of sadness, something that Natsu didn't pick up on.

"Really? Ah man that is awesome! Woooo! Just wait till the Snowcone figures out I'm a god slayer now. He's gonna freak!" Natsu said while jumping around like an idiot.

Ao could only laugh at his antics, but deep down she was sad. Sad because the dragon slayer she'd come to love was soon going to be leaving her life.

"Well, we should get home for now, it's been a long day" Ao said taking the pinkette's hand, prompting him to come with her.

"Y-Yeah sure" Natsu stammered, a little thrown off by her sudden contact.

The two of them then made their way back to the house hand in hand. Natsu had noticed that Ao's behavior had become a little strange this month, but he couldn't quite figure out what it was just yet. At the house, they talked, ate, and laughed together until the sun went down. Natsu and Ao said their good nights and they went to their respective rooms to sleep for the night. A couple of hours passed and the moon was high in the sky, a figure appearing in Natsu's doorway. Ao walked over to the pinkette's bedside and knelt beside him, looking at the slummbering dragon slayer with her bright teal eyes.

She smiled as she watched him sleep, hearing him snore, and seeing the many expressions cross his face as he dreamed. Without knowing it herself, Ao had inched closer and closer to the pinkette, until their faces were only a couple of inches apart. She could feel his hot breath brush against her lips, causing tingles to go down her spine. The goddess began to close the distance where she would steal Natsu's first kiss and claim it for herself. But then she jerked away, finally coming to her senses. ' _No, I can't. It wouldn't be fair to him, because his heart was not given to me. Even if he does not know it himself his heart yearns for another, but that doesn't mean I love him any less_ ' Ao thought to herself as she stood up, gave the dragon slayer one last glance, before leaving the room to go back to sleep herself.

[ **1 Month Later / Natsu's Return and Ao's Departure** ]

A month had passed since Natsu had completed his god slayer training, but that didn't stop him from pushing his limits to see how far he could go during that time. He continued to train with Ao, and the goddess taught him more about the Heavenly Divine World and about the other gods and goddesses that inhabited it, they continued to enjoy their company together. Finally the final night arrived, the night before Natsu returned to his home in Earthland. The pinkette was laying down on his bed eyes wide, almost too giddy to sleep. It had been about three years since he'd seen his friends, and he wondered how they would react once they saw him. As Natsu pondered this, Ao walked into his room her pajamas on and a pillow in hand. The fire dragon slayer looked up to see the new arrival.

"Oh hey Ao, what's up?" Natsu asked, wondering what she could possibly want this late at night.

"Well.." Ao began, trailing off and blushing ever so slightly because of what she was about to request.

"I was just wondering if I could sleep with you tonight?" the goddess asked, giving Natsu a sweet smile.

The pinkette was sort of confused by this request, seeing as there was a perfectly good bed in her room.

"Uh, did something happen to your bed?" Natsu inquired, a puzzled look on his face.

"No nothing like that, it's just…I'm a little cold is all" Ao lied, rubbing her arms pretending to be cold.

Natsu didn't really see this as a valid excuse seeing as she was a flame goddess and could regualte her temperature just like he does, but if it made her happy then he didn't mind. The pinkette moved over a bit to let the goddess know that he approved.

"Thank you Natsu" Ao said, smiling warmly at the fire dragon slayer as she layed down next to him.

"I'll adjust my temperature so you'll be warm" Natsu said as he began to turn away from the goddess, but was stopped when she wrapped her arms around him.

"Uh Ao what ar-" Natsu started, but was cut off by the goddess.

"Just let me stay like this, please" Ao said tightening her hold on him.

Natsu was surprised by her actions but agreed nonetheless.

"Ok then" he said, as he watched her snuggle into his chest.

The pinkette lay there for a moment not knowing exactly what to do, but then he decided to just return her embrace. Natsu didn't know why but he had a bad feeling for some reason, he brushed it aside for now since he was tired now and closed his eyes to go to sleep. Morning came and the sunlight flitered through the window, shining on the sleeping goddess making her seem like she was glowing. Ao stired at the sun's warmth and she slowly opened her eyes revealing the sleeping dragon slayer next to her. She smiled at the sight, while she brushed one of the pinkette's stray hairs from his face. ' _He's handsome when he sleeps_ ' she thought to herself, before getting out of bed and walking over towards the window.

The goddess gazed out the window not really looking at anything in particular, but soon she could feel tears beginning to come. ' _No I can't cry yet, I have to be strong. The way he is, he'd never leave knowing that one of his friends is sad. It's time for him to go back to where he belongs_ ' Ao thought, while stifeling the tears that threatened to break out. She put on a happy face, that was clearly just a façade to disguise her true feelings, and went to go wake up the pinkette for what would be the last time. "Natsu, wake up it's time to go" Ao said while shaking the dragon slayer gently.

"Wha? iz it mornin awready?" Natsu muttered, his speech a little slurred from his drowsiness.

"Yes it is so go get dressed, we don't want to keep your friends at Fairy Tail waiting now do we?" Ao inquired playfully, also giggling a bit when the pinkette began to clammer out of the bed to get his clothes on.

After the two got dressed they both ate some breakfast, and then left the house so they could make their way back to Earthland.

"By the way Ao, how the heck are we going to get back to Earthland?" Natsu asked a curious look on his face.

"Well you've traveled to the celestial spirit world haven't you?" Ao answered with a question of her own.

"What, are you saying that it's basicaly the same?" Natsu asked, raising a brow.

"Right you are, but instead of a celestial spirit, you have a goddess transporting you" Ao finished with a smile.

"So where are we going now?" Natsu inquired, as they were now traveling through a forest.

"At the edge of this isle there is a platform that connects my world to yours. We need to go there in order to travel back to Earthland" Ao replied, picking up her pace every so slightly. The two were slient for the rest of the walk to the platform, and after several more minutes of walking they arrived.

"You ready?" Ao asked the dragon slayer as she turned to face him.

"Yeah, let's go" Natsu replied, turning to face her as well.

Ao took the pinkette's hands in her own, and then muttered something under her breath. Suddenly, black and teal flames began to engulf the two and before Natsu knew it, his surroundings began to distort and fade away completely. Next thing he knew, they were standing in a familiar forest.

"Whoa, this is the East forest. We are right outside of Magnolia" Natsu stated as he observed his surroundings.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's get to Fairy Tail so you can me-" Natsu began but stopped when he turned back to Ao only to see tears streaming down her cheeks.

Natsu put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye before questioning her.

"Ao what's the matter? Why are you crying?" Natsu asked frantically, trying to understand what could have upset her.

Ao looked deep into his onyx eyes, before leaning in to kiss the dragon slayer on the cheek and pushing him away. Natsu was utterly confused, he didn't know why she was acting this way.

"Ao what's the deal? Why won't you tell me whats wrong?" Natsu asked, desparation in his tone now.

Right then, black and teal flames began to erupt in small patches all over the flame goddess. It wasn't until the the patches of flame began to erase pieces of the goddess, that Natsu began to panic.

"Ao! What's happening? Why are you disappearing!?" Natsu shouted, despair beginning to sink in.

Ao only smiled weakly at the distraught dragon slayer.

"Natsu, this will be the last time we'll ever see each other" the goddess said in a shaky voice, as she continued to fade away.

Natsu's eyes widened, "No…you can't…please don't" Natsu said barely above a whisper, tears now welling up in his eyes.

Ao was almost completely gone now, all that remained was her face that was slowly fading away, succuming to the shimmering flames.

"Natsu, I love you. I will always be watching over you" Ao said, her voice soft and the most beautiful smile on her face.

The flames finally consumed the goddess and then shot straight into the sky, vanishing from sight.

"AO!" Natsu screamed falling to his knees, tears now flowing freely.

Natsu hunched over and began to sob, it was Igneel all over again. Was he cursed? Why is it that some of the most important people in his life ended up be torn away from him? Out of nowhere, a rock in front of Natsu burst into black and teal flames, causing the sobbing pinkette to look up. The shimmering flames grew brighter for a moment and then disapated, revealing a sealed letter and what appeared to be a bangle. Natsu picked up the items and then looked towards the sky, tears still streaming.

"Thank you…Ao"

[ **Flash-Back End** ]

Natsu had finished telling his story, leaving the guild speechless. He didn't know when, but he had subconsciously pulled out the bangle that Ao left him. The pinkette gazed at it for a moment, before igniting it with his black and teal flames. Some of the guild members were going to scold him for destroying such a precious item, but stopped themselves when something unexpected happend. What was once a bangle, was now a photograph that the fire dragon slayer was looking at. A single tear fell from the pinkette's eyes, as the picture he was holding was one he took with Ao somewhere around the time when they first met. Everyone looked at the pinkette with caring eyes, because they knew he would always be in hurting. First Igneel, and now Aodh. Natsu wiped his eyes and ignited the photo again, causing it to return to it's original form as a bangle. The bangle itself was simple, it was a black band with intricate teal engravings that almost looked like little dragons. Natsu then turned his attention back to his crowd.

"Alright everyone, now you know" Natsu said giving them his usual toothy grin.

The guild saw right through that grin of his and they all started to converge on him, causing the pinkette to become confused.

"Guys?" Natsu asked, hoping someone would explain their weird behavior. One by one they all embraced the fire dragon slayer, until it was a giant group hug. It was Mira who spoke.

"Welcome home Natsu" the barmaid said a smile spreading across her lips.

Natsu could only smile in return as his friends comforted him, they were the best family anyone could ever ask for. When they all let go of him it was Gildarts who broke the silence next.

"Hey Natsu, there's still a little daylight left. Why don't you and I pick up where we left off" the crash wizard said, a smirk on his face.

Natsu looked at Gildarts with a mischevious grin on his face."I thought you'd never ask" Natsu said as he got up to head over to the crash wizard.

The rest of the guild started to converse with one another in anticipation for the fight.

"Do you think Natsu will win?" Lucy asked the people she was with, which were team Natsu, Lisanna, and Mira.

"The Pyro may have learned god slayer magic but that doesn't mean he'll be able to beat Gildarts" Gray said in an uniterested tone.

"I might have to agree with Gray on this one. We have yet to see Gildarts' full strength" Erza said, while pondering the outcome of the fight to come.

"But this is Natsu we are talking about, I'm pretty sure that after three years of training he has probably surpassed Gildarts by now" Wendy stated with confidence, because no matter what it was she always wanted to root for her favorite pinkette.

"Well there's only one way to find out" Lisanna said while pointing to the two fighters in question, who were now exiting the guildhall.

Gildarts and Natsu walked to a clearing that was a few miles away from the guild, considering that the fight to come was going to be pretty destructive. The two arrived at the clearing, with the guild stopping about half a mile away for safety reasons.

"Alright boys I want a clean fight, and remember this is just a sparring match so don't go overboard!" Makarov shouted, as the two contenders got into position.

"You ready for this kid?" Gildarts said as he smirked at the pinkette.

"I'm not a kid anymore old man" Natsu said grinning madly, slamming his fists togther causing fire to flare out.

"I'm all fired up!" Natsu yelled, and soon after Makarov started the fight.

"FIGHT!" shouted the titan wizard, and not a second later the crash wizard and the fire dragon slayer where at it.

They both jumped towards each other going for a punch, only for their fists to collide. The sheer physical force of their colliding fists caused a crater to form under them and a shockwave that could be felt by the guild members half a mile away, leaving the guild in awe at their physical strength. Natsu then ignited his foot and went for a kick to the head, " **FIRE DRAGON'S TALON!** " Natsu bellowed, but his kick was easily blocked by Gildarts, who then smiled at him.

"You're gonna have to do better than tha-" Gildarts began, but was cut off when Natsu's attack intensified all of a sudden and sent the crash wizard flying.

The pinkette didn't give the crash wizard any time to recover as he was on him in an instant. Gildarts saw this coming and he landed a powerful punch to the pinkette's gut effectively knocking the wind out of him. Gildarts then grabbed Natsu by his head and slammed the fire dragon slayer into the ground where out of nowhere the pinkette burst into flames and disappeared.

"What the…" Gildarts muttered trying to figure what the heck just happened, only to be kicked in the back.

"Guah!" Gildarts cried out as he was launched a couple of yards by the powerful kick.

All of the guild members mouths were agape at what they were witnessing.

"No way! The Fire-Breather is actually keeping up with Gildarts?" Gray asked in astonishment.

"It would appear so" Erza said, her eyes locked on the pinkette.

"Ah man, I really felt that one" Gildarts said as he stood back up and faced Natsu.

"What was that little trick you pulled back there?" Gildarts inquired, curious as to how the pinkette escaped his attack.

Natsu smirked, "Well I guess you could say I teleported, but I'm not sure that's really what it is" Natsu replied in a thoughtful tone.

"So you're telling me that you can teleport" Gildarts stated sarcastically, but to his surprise Natsu had disappeared again.

"I'd say it's more like me turning into flames and flying to another location" Natsu said now behind the confused crash wizard.

Hearing the pinkette behind him Gildarts went for a backhand strike, but Natsu dodged. " **FLAME GOD'S SACRED FIST!** " Natsu yelled as he drove his black and teal flame engulfed fist into Gildarts' gut. The crash wizard groaned in pain as fell to a knee, coughing after having the wind knocked out of him.

"Haha, now that was a punch" Gildarts said as he smiled at Natsu.

"Like that huh?" Natsu said grinning back at his mentor.

"All right Natsu, if we keep going like this the fight'll never end. So how about you give me everything you've got and lets end it here and now" Gildarts said as he stood back up, already recovered from the direct hit he took.

"Sounds good to me old man" Natsu said, as he prepared his next attack.

Gildarts took a defensive stance ready for anything the fire dragon slayer would throw at him. Natsu's aura began to flare up as concentrated his magic power, and then…" **DRAGON GOD MODE!** " Natsu shouted, causing orange flames to unite with his black and teal flames. The two different flames swirled around his being, it almost seemed like they were in conflict. While Gildarts was ready for just about anything, this still threw him for a loop. The same could be said for all of the onlookers of the fight. The sheer amount of magic power eminating from Natsu was almost obscene, and to think this is not even Natsu's full potential.

Natsu gave Gildarts one last grin before letting him have it. " **DRAGON GOD'S ROAR!** " the pinkette bellowed, a massive torrent of the mixed fire erupted from his mouth and sped straight towards the crash wizard. " **CRASH!** " Gildarts shouted, causing enourmous wave of crash magic to collide with Natsu's roar. At first it looked as though Gildarts' attack was cutting straight through the pinkette's roar, but then something unexpected happened. The fire from the roar began to burn away the crash magic, until it was completely gone. As the torrent of fire made its way to Gildarts, he could only smile because the kid he'd watched grow up, had now surpassed him.

"Well done kid, well done" Gildarts said, still smiling as he was engulfed in the flames putting him into unconsciousness. The Guild couldn't believe it, Natsu Dragneel had just beat Gildarts Clive in a fight. They then erupted into cheers, dancing and shouting complements to the fire dragon slayer. Natsu then made his way over to the now unconcious Gildarts, and kneeled next to him.

"Well you did say go all out, old man" Natsu muttered as he laid a hand on the crash wizards chest.

" **Ignis Sanat** " Natsu chanted, a bright teal flame pulsed under the pinkette's hand causing Gildarts to regain consciousness.

The crash wizard looked up at the fire dragon slayer and laughed.

"Is there anything you can't do?" Gildarts said, as he sat up his wounds partially healed thanks to Natsu's spell.

"Of course there are still things I can't do, I'm not perfect ya know. Even if I did win this fight, I'm always going to look up to you Gildarts. Not for one moment do I think that I've surpassed you, I still have a ways to go" Natsu said, giving the crash wizard his signature toothy grin.

Gildarts shook his head letting out a small chuckle.

"You've grown up just fine kid. Now why don't we head back and get a drink" Gildarts said as he stood up and offered the pinkette his hand. Natsu still grinning glady took his mentors hand, and together they walked back to the crowd that was still losing their minds.

[ **A Mountain Range On The Outskirts of Fiore** ]

Sitting atop a mountain, a single figure could be seen with their cloak flowing wildly due to the wind. It was a woman, her long unruly blue hair also flowing in the wind. She had blue flame-like markings going down her arms and legs, all of them converging on the edges of her face. The rest of her attire was ragged to say the least. She wore a piece of black cloth that covered her chest, leaving her stomach exposed. For the bottom she wore more tattered black cloth that just barely covered her essentials. To top it all off, she wore a gold bangle on her right arm, and a necklace composed of dragons teeth. The woman sat there for a while, before finally speaking.

"Natsu…I want to see you" the woman said just above a whisper.

"Natsu I need you…to remember me"

* * *

 **If you gave this chapter a read, thank you for taking the time to do so, it really means a lot.**

 **Also, how was it? If you liked it or even if you didn't, let me know with a review as those help me a lot. Remebemer I'm a noob, be gentle.**

 **Per the request of some readers, I tried my best to separate the dialogue from the descriptive text. Let me know if you guys like this format better.**

 **One last thing, sorry in advance if the fight scene's weren't really that good, I'm still learning here so yeah. Till next time guys**

 **Peace Out!**


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